STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland didn’t know how his young team was going to respond after a 25-point loss to Central Florida last Thursday.
But MSU bounced back from the loss in the first round of the Gildan Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, to beat Boise State (80-68) and UTEP (61-54).
“I think it was also a wakeup call, ‘Hey, this is how it’s going to be. It’s a whole different level now,’ with how physical and how hard they pushed it in transition. I was really happy with the way we responded,” Howland said.
At 7 tonight (SEC Network+), MSU (3-1) will try to bounce back after learning a wrist injury will force leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon to miss the rest of the season when it plays host to Lehigh (1-2) at Humphrey Coliseum.
MSU had five players score in double digits, including Weatherspoon, who had 25 points against Boise State. Sophomore forward Aric Holman scored a career-high 18 points in 23 minutes, while freshman point guard Lamar Peters had 13 points and was 4 of 5 from 3-point range against UTEP.
Howland was pleased with Peters’ play against UTEP and said his young point guard was patient and let things come to him.
Senior point guard I.J. Ready said the young players showed some maturity in the last two games.
“You can easily shut down and give up,” Ready said. “I think for them to be able to bounce back and come with the fire that they brought in the second and third game, it was good.”
Weatherspoon, who was averaging 18.8 points per game, is out for the season after suffering a possible tear of the Scapholunate ligament in his left wrist. He will have surgery next week. Freshman guard Tyson Carter, a former standout at Starkville High School native, is averaging 12.3 ppg., while Ready is averaging 12 ppg.
Lehigh lost 84-81 at No. 9 Xavier in its opener and lost 89-81 at Yale. It bounced back with a 76-67 victory against Princeton.
“They had a chance in that game to win,” Howland said of Lehigh’s game against Xavier. “They’re very good. It’s going to be tough.”
Two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Tim Kempton leads the Mountain Hawks. The senior center/forward is averaging 26.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Howland said it will be a challenge defending Kempton because he can score in the post and on the perimeter.
Ready said he will learn a lot about the Bulldogs in their first game without Weatherspoon.
“It’s a great challenge,” Ready said. “If they come in and we don’t play or we don’t execute or we don’t compete, then we can easily get beat. Lehigh’s a good team.”
Ready played Amateur Athletic Union basketball with Lehigh junior guard Kahron Ross, who is averaging 7.5 ppg. Ready said Ross, a Jonesboro, Arkansas, native, reminds him of himself because he’s scrappy, can shoot the ball, can play defense, and controls his team.
Without Weatherspoon, Howland knows it will important for a team with six freshman scholarship players to bounce back from losses and adversity.
“Our big thing is now, knock on wood, to stay healthy and to continue to improve with each and every experience,” Howland said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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