FAYETTEVILLE — Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 22 points and the Mississippi State defense shut down Arkansas in the second half for a 77-67 win Saturday night.
After trailing 38-32 at the half with seemingly no answer for Arkansas' 3-point shooting, the Bulldogs (18-7, 6-6 SEC) played inspired defense after the break that culminated in a 23-1 run over an 8:20 span. During that run, the Razorbacks (14-11, 5-7) committed five turnovers, six fouls and missed 13 field-goal attempts.
By the time Mason Jones stopped the run, converting a 3-point play at the 11:33 mark, the Razorbacks trailed 55-44. Any momentum from the play was immediately nixed when Tyson Carter hit a jumper on the other end to push his team's lead back to 13.
The Razorbacks had 10 turnovers in the first half alone, nearly eclipsing their average of 12.8 per game over their last six contests. Their 10 turnovers in the second half were more crippling, however, as many came immediately after transition-starting defensive stops.
The Bulldogs' well-rounded scoring effort included double-digit performances from Weatherspoon, Carter (18), Reggie Perry (12) and Robert Woodard II (10).
Jones scored 30 points for Arkansas. No other Razorbacks player scored in double figures.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: In the hours leading up to the game, Mississippi State announced via press release that starting shooting guard Nick Weatherspoon was indefinitely suspended for a rules violation. The sophomore is Mississippi State's fourth-leading scorer this season with 11 double-digit scoring games. In Weatherspoon's absence, the Bulldogs turned to Carter, whose 18 points were a season high.
Arkansas: Daniel Gafford had a rough game after scoring 20-plus points in three of his previous four games. He was thoroughly bothered by Mississippi State's low-post size, including Perry's aggressive defense throughout the contest. He finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. Perry was formerly committed to Arkansas when he was a five-star prospect, but he ultimately enrolled at Mississippi State. The Hogs dropped to 2-3 in February, which is uncharacteristic of Mike Anderson's teams. The loss drops the coach's record in February to 38-23 in eight seasons.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs continue their two-game road trip at Georgia on Wednesday.
The Razorbacks travel to Auburn on Wednesday.
EARLIER
Miss. State 77, Arkansas 67 - Final
Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 22 points to lead the Bulldogs past Arkansas and drop the Razorbacks to 5-7 in SEC play with six regular-season games to play.
Weatherspoon has scored at least 22 points in each of his last three games against Arkansas. Tyson Carter, who started tonight's game in place of suspended Nick Weatherspoon, added 18 points and Reggie Perry, the one-time Arkansas commit, finished with a double-double.
Arkansas was led by Mason Jones, who scored 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
We will have more from tonight's game later on WholeHogSports.com.
Miss. State 66, Arkansas 55 - 3:32 left
Arkansas has tied its season-high for turnovers in a game with 19. The Razorbacks, after committing 10 in the first half, have nine more on 31 second-half possessions.
Bulldogs also with five offensive rebounds since halftime. Reggie Perry has three. Mississippi State's size along the frontline has been an issue for Arkansas all night.
Miss. State 61, Arkansas 51 - 7:20 left
Mason Jones scored again on something of a snowbirding situation. Miss. State forward Aric Holman, for some reason, tried to take Isaiah Joe off the bounce, fell, Jalen Harris picked up the loose ball and hit Jones on the other end for a layup.
Jones now with 20 and Arkansas is within 10 at the next to last media timeout. It's Jones' third SEC game with at least 20 points and his first since dropping 23 on Georgia.
Miss. State 61, Arkansas 47 - 8:45 left
Arkansas is 2-of-17 from the floor in the second half and Mason Jones has both scores at the rim. His layup cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 14 and forced Ben Howland to burn a timeout prior to the under-8 media timeout.
Mason Jones has a game-high 18 points. No other Arkansas player has more than six.
Miss. State 55, Arkansas 41 - 11:42 left
Razorbacks are now 0-of-14 from the floor, 0-of-5 from 3-point range in the second half and being outscored 23-3 since halftime. Bulldogs are putting their foot down on the defensive end and giving Arkansas absolutely nothing.
Miss. State is 10-of-15 from the floor in the second half and just got a 3 from forward Aric Holman to push its run to 16-0 over the last 4:44. Reggie Perry also tipped in an airballed 3 by Robert Woodard.
Miss. State 50, Arkansas 41 - 13:27 left
Mississippi State is on an 18-1 run over the last 5:30 of the game. The Bulldogs outscored Arkansas 12-1 with Osabuohien in the game after Gafford sat with three fouls. Reggie Chaney did not check in until the Razorbacks found themselves down 48-41.
Arkansas has turned the ball over five times since halftime. Isaiah Joe has a pair while Gafford/Jones/Bailey each have one.
Q Weatherspoon and Tyson Carter have a combined 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the second half.
Miss. State 43, Arkansas 41 - 15:42 left
Daniel Gafford picked up a pair of fouls very early in the second half and has to sit. While he's been on the bench, the Bulldogs have outscored Arkansas 7-1.
The Razorbacks are 0-of-7 from the floor to open the second half and all three of their points have come at the line. Daniel Gafford canned a pair after being fouled at the rim on Arkansas' first possession out of halftime, and Mason Jones split two free throws after a Miss. State foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1.
Tyson Carter, who got the start today in place of Nick Weatherspoon, has six points for the Bulldogs in the second half. He's got 10 points for the game on 5-of-10 shooting.
Arkansas 38, Miss. State 32 - Half
Jalen Harris put the cherry on top of a pretty entertaining first half with a midrange jumper off the glass to beat the shot clock with just a few seconds remaining in the half. Harris has five points and six assists versus one turnover at the break.
Mason Jones leads all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He hit a pair of 3s from the left corner, where he was previously 1-of-8 since the beginning of conference play entering tonight. Jones is in double figures for the third straight game and sixth time in Arkansas' last seven.
Daniel Gafford has just two points on a tip-in in 18 minutes in the first half. He's 1-of-3 from the floor, has four rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two turnovers, so not at all a horrible half from him.
One worrisome thing, though, from the first half was Arkansas' 10 turnovers. Gafford, Reggie Chaney and Gabe Osabuohien combined for seven of them. Osabuohien has three in just four minutes played. Mississippi State has been shaky with the ball, too, coughing it up 10 times. Lamar Peters and Q Weatherspoon each have three miscues.
Reggie Chaney, I thought, gave Arkansas some good minutes in the first half. He finished with five points in six minutes. He went 3-for-3 at the line and finished a nice and-1 fairly early on. He's been solid, and I figure Mike Anderson might go to him a bit more in the second half. Adrio Bailey has been playing well, though, so we'll see.
Q Weatherspoon and Robert Woodard lead the Bulldogs with eight points apiece.
Miss. State 27, Arkansas 26 - 3:39 left first half
The Bulldogs have taken the lead on a Robert Woodard corner 3 in front of the Arkansas bench. Woodard has a team-high eight points on 3-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-2 from distance.
Mason Jones has a game-high 12 points tonight on 4-of-6 from 3-point range and Adrio Bailey has six. Daniel Gafford, Reggie Chaney and Gabe Osabuohien have combined for seven of Arkansas' nine turnovers to this point. Chaney and Osabuohien have five between them in five total minutes.
Gafford has not scored tonight. He's 0-for-2 from the floor in 16 minutes.
Arkansas 21, Miss. State 19 - 7:55 left first half
Mason Jones knocked down another 3, this one from the left corner where he was previously 1-of-8 since the beginning of conference play. He has a game-high nine points.
Again, Arkansas is shooting the ball well, but Mississippi State is hanging around because it is 8-of-16 from the floor. Razorbacks have done a solid job defensively, turning the Bulldogs over eight times. Q Weatherspoon already has three turnovers and forward Aric Holman has a pair.
Arkansas 14, Miss. State 12 - 11:52 left first half
Arkansas is 5-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep yet leads by only a bucket because of a rash of turnovers. Gabe Osabuohien turned the ball over three times in two minutes after checking in for Adrio Bailey.
Arkansas actually turned the ball over on all four possessions Osabuohien was in the game. He sits, and Gafford re-enters the game on short rest.
Isaiah Joe hit the Razorbacks' third triple of the night late in the shot clock to put Arkansas up 14-8. Q Weatherspoon has a team-high six points for the Bulldogs.
Arkansas 11, Miss. State 6 - 15:23 left first half
Razorbacks off to a pretty good start offensively. Mason Jones has hit a pair of 3s, including one to open the game. Both of his 3s came from essentially the same spot just left of the top of the key.
Adrio Bailey has four early on as well. He knocked down a left short-corner jumper and threw down a dunk in transition, too. The jumper makes him 5-of-9 from the left side of the floor on 2-point Js over the last 12-plus games. Good start for him.
Tyson Carter, who got the start in place of the suspended Nick Weatherspoon, leads the Bulldogs with four points so far.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford.
A solid performance from Arkansas tonight could do wonders for its confidence coming off back-to-back losses at South Carolina and Missouri - both games it had a chance to win. The Bulldogs are down a key player tonight - see below - so can the Razorbacks' backcourt outplay Q Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters?
I think another key matchup to watch tonight is the 4 spot. Reggie Perry has been playing well for Ben Howland of late, and Arkansas' 4s have been spotty at best. Adrio Bailey, Reggie Chaney and Gabe Osabuohien are going to be big tonight in trying to match up with Mississippi State's size and length up front. Mississippi State is fourth in the league in SEC-only games in offensive rebound percentage (34 percent). Arkansas has to keep Perry, Ado and Aric Holman off the glass.
Mississippi State's starters: Quinndary Weatherspoon, Lamar Peters, Tyson Carter, Reggie Perry and Abdul Ado.
The Razorbacks have a tough task on their hands tonight: slowing a couple of the best guards in the SEC, particularly Quinndary Weatherspoon. The elder Weatherspoon is third in the league in scoring while lefty Lamar Peters assists him. Nick Weatherspoon has been suspended indefinitely due to a violation of team rules, the school announced this afternoon. He did travel with the team.
Arkansas turned opponents over on 26.6 percent of their possessions during its four-game SEC winning streak, but when Mississippi State’s trio share the floor, the Bulldogs’ team turnover rate is under 16 percent for the season.
Tonight is also the first time former Razorbacks commit Reggie Perry will play in Bud Walton Arena. Perry is averaging 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30.1 minutes over the last four games against Ole Miss, LSU, Kentucky and Alabama since Ben Howland put him into the starting lineup. Perry ranks fifth in the SEC in offensive rebound rate at 13.2 percent - ahead of the likes of PJ Washington and Travis Reid at Kentucky and Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander.
Running updates by Scottie Bordelon