STARKVILLE – Tyson Carter had a 22nd birthday to remember as the senior guard dialed up 15 points, seven assists and three steals off the bench to lift the Mississippi State men’s basketball team to its first SEC victory with a 72-45 rout of Missouri on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

Carter’s performance was highlighted by eclipsing his father, Greg Carter (1988-89-90-91), on Mississippi State’s all-time scoring list. He also moved past Wiley Peck (1976-77-78-79) and into sole possession of 30th place.

The Bulldogs (10-6, 1-3 SEC) ended a three-game losing streak and have won seven of their last eight meetings over Missouri (9-7, 1-3 SEC) since the 2014-15 season.

Mizzou’s offensive output of 45 points marked the fewest points allowed by the Bulldogs against a SEC foe during the Ben Howland era. The 27-point triumph also matched the second-highest margin of victory over a SEC opponent under Howland. State improved to 34-3 when holding the opposition to 60 points or less with Howland at the helm.

Reggie Perry pumped in a SEC career-best 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting coupled with 10 rebounds to compile his fifth double-double over his last six games. It also marked his SEC-leading ninth double-double on the season to bring his career total to 18 which is tops among SEC active players.

Joining Carter and Perry in double figures was Nick Weatherspoon, who amassed 11 points on 4-of-7 from the floor. He has provided double figures in five of his first six appearances this season. The Canton native also added four assists.

Robert Woodard II worked his way to nine points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals whereas Abdul Ado chipped in six points, four rebounds and a block.

Iverson Molinar came away with four points, while Prince Oduro and Elias King rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs with two points apiece. Quinten Post dished out the first assist of his career and grabbed three rebounds for the second time this season.

For the contest, MSU buried 30-of-55 from the field (54.5 percent), 5-of-13 on three-pointers (38.5 percent) and was a flawless 7-for-7 at the free throw line (100.0 percent).

The Bulldogs handed out 17 assists against 15 turnovers, while Missouri tallied 10 assists and 19 turnovers. Mississippi State claimed a 36-24 rebounding advantage, a 38-24 edge in paint points and collected 22 of the game’s 33 points off turnovers. 

The Tigers counted with a 17-of-49 shooting clip (34.7 percent), 5-of-25 from beyond the three-point arc (20.0 percent) and was 6-of-10 at the charity stripe (60.0 percent).

Mizzou was led by Kobe Brown’s 14 points and leading scorer, Dru Smith, was bottled up for a season-low two points and misfired on four of his five shot attempts.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND

“That was obviously a great win for us. We needed it desperately. I thought our defense was the best it has been all year. We improved upon the last game. We really dominated to get 18 points in the first half off of their turnovers. [That] was really key to have a 40-20 advantage at the half. Defense was unbelievable. I thought it was really physical and tough. I thought we played incredibly unselfish tonight, 17 assists on 30 baskets. That’s what we want to see. I thought our pace of play tonight, offensively in particular, is what I’ve been talking about. We have 55 shots and make 30 of them. We shoot 54 percent. I really love that aspect. We boarded really well and won by 12 again. I thought our guys really executed offensively, better than we have in terms of being patient. It helps our defense.”

“I am really proud of Tyson [Carter]. I feel like Tyson has the monkey off his back now. That basket is going to get really big again. That is great for us. That was a great 22nd birthday for him tonight – seven assists and only one turnover tonight. I moved him to be the backup point guard when Nick [Weatherspoon] isn’t in there. It is something I probably should have done sooner. He is playing like a senior tonight. He really made plays for others. He had a pass in the first half left-handed to Reggie [Perry]. I thought he had some fantastic passes tonight. Obviously, Reggie played great, 23 points and 10 boards. He was really dominant knocking down a couple three’s which was great too.”

“Nick [Weatherspoon], that’s what the difference is [on holding Missouri’s leading scorer Dru Smith to two points]. You’ve got that little guy in your grill. Our team’s defense overall, too. When you’re dealing with Nick, Abdul [Ado] and ball-screen, you’ve got a 7-5 wingspan with lateral quickness and strength. You’ve got a guy that’s so tough defensively, as Nick is. I love good basketball. When I’m watching us play that kind of defense tonight, it just brings me an incredible amount of joy and pride in our guys.”

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Mississippi State controlled the tempo from the opening tip and blitzed the Tigers with the first 10 points during the opening 4:36. The Bulldogs got the ball in early and often with a pair of paint buckets courtesy of Reggie Perry and Abdul Ado.

Mississippi State kept the fireworks coming and pushed its lead to 16-3 on an Iverson Molinar steal and slam with 11:57 left.

Ahead 19-9 at the 9:02 mark, Perry ignited a 12-2 flurry with a traditional three-point play and a dunk. Nick Weatherspoon bookended the spurt with five straight points of his own to push the Bulldogs advantage to 33-11 with 4:04 remaining.

Mississippi State would carry a 40-20 lead into the locker room as Weatherspoon knocked down a midrange jumper to beat the buzzer.

Perry sparked the first-half onslaught with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting during the opening 20 minutes. As a team, Mississippi State drained 17-of-28 from the floor en route to a 60.7 shooting percentage, the second-highest mark versus a SEC opponent in a first half under Ben Howland.

The Bulldogs limited Missouri to 20 points in the first half, which matched the lowest point total for a conference foe in the Howland era and lowest since March 5, 2016 against Auburn.

Mizzou would slice the deficit down to 15 points on three occasions, the latest at 46-31 on a Reed Niko jam with 12:58 to go.

The Bulldogs responded with eight consecutive points capped by Tyson Carter and Perry treys 46 seconds apart to make it 54-31 at the 9:02 mark.

Mississippi State kept its foot on the gas pedal and snatched its largest lead at 68-36 with 4:54 remaining after two Carter free throws.

Prince Oduro and Elias King added layups down the stretch to close out the 72-45 decision. The Bulldogs walked away with their fourth 20-plus point victory of the season.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State continues its three-game homestand and hosts Georgia Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. Tip Time is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network and carried online courtesy of the Watch ESPN Platform.