Not much went right from the start for Mississippi State against Oklahoma on Saturday.
The Bulldogs went scoreless for the first five minutes of play, had their best player pick up three fouls in the first half (including a technical foul) and shot under 40 percent from the floor for the second straight game.
Despite all of that, MSU (12-7) still had a chance to steal a road victory at the buzzer in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Trailing by one and without a timeout, MSU put its fate in the hands of Columbus native Robert Woodard II. Woodard II fired a mid-range shot with a hand in his face, but the attempt clanked off the rim. Tyson Carter couldn’t get the putback to go, and considering the shot left his hand right after the buzzer, it wouldn’t have counted anyway.
After a three-game win streak, the Bulldogs found themselves back in the loss column after a 63-62 loss to the Sooners (13-6) at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
“Obviously for us, it’s a very disappointing loss after a great comeback,” MSU coach Ben Howland said in his postgame press conference. ” … Give them credit, they’re incredibly coached at both ends of the floor. This loss is on me. I did a horrible job the last 15 seconds not setting something up. Typically, you want to attack down one and get to the rim. We didn’t have any timeouts left … I definitely should have called some type of ball screen late. This loss is totally on my shoulders.”
MSU was at a disadvantage after eight minutes passed in the first half when Reggie Perry picked up his second and third fouls (one coming via a technical). Perry, who became the first MSU player to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Arkansas on Wednesday, had to sit out the remainder of the half.
“He’s our best player and has been playing really well,” Howland said. “That technical hurt us because I couldn’t play him the rest of the half. I would play him with two fouls, but with three fouls you can’t do it. It was a big factor.”
The Bulldogs trailed 38-30 entering the break, shooting 33 percent from the floor, while Oklahoma shot 46 percent. Perry had more fouls than points (0). Carter came to the rescue with nine points off the bench to keep the Bulldogs hanging around. The senior from Starkville finished with 14 points on the day.
“We came out and their defense was terrific,” Howland said. “We were impatient offensively.”
Woodard II opened the second half with a 5-0 run by himself to reduce the deficit to 38-35, then Perry made it a 8-0 MSU run with his first basket of the day, a banked-in 3 to knot things up at 38 apiece.
MSU didn’t take its first lead of the game until 4:06 remained, as D.J. Stewart cut to the basket and finished off a tough layup to give his team a 58-57 advantage.
Oklahoma took a four-point lead with more than a minute remaining, but Carter reduced the deficit to 63-62 with a 3-pointer with 1:10 to go.
The Sooners controlled the ball for the next minute but couldn’t score, giving Woodard II the chance to be a hero with eight seconds remaining. But he couldn’t convert, sealing the loss.
“We had a decent look by Robert,” Howland said. “I thought Robert and D.J. Stewart both did a great job playing so many minutes.”
Woodard II finished with a team-high 15 points, while Stewart Jr. had 12. Perry finished with seven points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. Brady Manek had a game-high 18 points for the Sooners.
MSU is back in action on the road against Florida at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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