With Quinndary Weatherspoon out, Mississippi State is still learning to adjust without him as they beat the Northwestern State Demons 65-59.
Head Coach Ben Howland talked about the win after the game.
“Really happy we got the win,” Howland said. “I’m glad to get the win and hope that we keep getting healthy.”
Weatherspoon was not the only player missing from MSU’s lineup on Monday night. True freshman guard Lamar Peters was nowhere to be seen as the team warmed up. Peters, who was suspended by Coach Howland for a game early in the year, overslept and missed pre-game warm-ups.
Howland said he sent a manager to Peters’ dorm room with about 50 minutes before tipoff. The trainer found Peters asleep in his bed and Howland told the trainer to just tell Lamar to stay.
“That’s embarrassing,” Howland said. “Everybody has an IPhone that has an alarm on it, so put your alarm. You already know he has been suspended once this year, it just continues.”
With two starters out, true freshman Eli Wright started for MSU. Wright, a 6-4, 203-pound guard out of Owensboro, Kentucky, did not disappoint in his first career start. Wright went 4-5 from the field, scoring 11 points. He also tied for the lead on the team in rebounds with seven, three of which were offensive.
Wright said he was told just before the game that he would start. He talked about his reaction in the post-game press conference.
“That’s what I want,” Wright said. “To be able to get the opportunity and take the chance that he gave me. I think I played okay, could have done a lot of stuff better.”
The primary defensive problem for MSU was Demon guard Zeek Woodley. Woodley, a 6-2, 200-pound player from Pelican, Louisiana, single handedly kept Northwestern State in the game. He scored 28 points and went 10-19 from the field overall and 5-9 from behind the three-point line.
Coach Howland praised Woodley after the game.
“Twenty-three (Woodley) is a heck of a player,” Howland said. “He is a hard matchup, because he is like a 6-3 power forward. He made a little jump hook over Aric Holman who is our best shot blocker, who is long, like it was nothing, he knows how to play.”
With the game close down the stretch, it was senior point guard I.J. Ready who stepped up and shot the dagger for MSU. Ready, a 5-11, 166-pound player from Rixey, Arkansas, scored 14 points overall on the game, but it was one three-pointer that stood out. With 2:03 left in the game, Ready shot a step back three-pointer to give MSU a four-point lead and secured the victory.
Northwestern State Head Coach Mike McConathy said the shot broke his back.
“Ready’s shot at the end of the game just broke my back,” McConathy said. “He made the play that he has been doing for three years here, my hats are off to him.”
MSU basketball will be back in action on Thursday. They take on Oregon State at home at 8 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.