STARKVILLE — I.J. Ready knew it was time for him to step up.
Leading by one point late in the game, Ready brought the ball up the court and was trying to feed the post. Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland was telling Ready to get the ball inside.
Ready surveyed the defense and his options but didn’t see anything he liked. He decided to take a shot. Ready knocked down a 3-pointer and MSU went on to beat Northwestern State 65-59 Monday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
“Time was winding down and we practice that shot and I can shoot that shot,” Ready said. “I was like, ‘OK, y’all can give it to me,’ and I just shot it with confidence and it went in.”
Ready’s 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs (4-2) a 60-56 lead with 2 minutes, 4 seconds remaining. Immediately after the shot went in Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy called a timeout.
Zeek Woodley, who had a game-high 28 points, made a 3-pointer on the Demons’ next possession, but the Bulldogs scored the final five points to pull away.
Woodley said they talked about Ready’s 3-pointer in the locker room because he didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in the first half and had three points.
“He hit that step back 3 and that was the dagger to us,” Woodley said. “He hadn’t hit a shot in the whole first half, not a 3, and hit that 3 at the end. That was a good shot.”
The Bulldogs were 2 of 15 (13.3 percent) from 3-point range after shooting 0 of 9 in the first half. Northwestern State (2-4) was 9 of 21 from 3-point range and Woodley was 5 of 9.
Ready led the Bulldogs with 14 points on 4 of 6 shooting. The 3-pointer was the only one he attempted.
Ready scored six of MSU’s final 12 points. Sophomore forward Aric Holman had four points, while freshman Mario Kegler had a two-handed dunk to give MSU a 62-59 lead with 1:20 remaining.
Trailing 54-53, Ready made two free throws to give MSU a 55-54 lead. Holman made two free throws to increase MSU’s lead to 57-54. After Woodley made two free throws, Ready knocked down his 3-point shot.
“That’s what you expect a senior point guard to do,” Howland said. “He made great plays and was really tough. I was really proud of I.J. on how he’s been a really good leader, a positive leader for these young kids.”
MSU played its second game without leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon, a sophomore forward/guard, suffered a possible tear to his scapholunate ligament in an 80-68 win over Boise State on Nov. 18 in the Gildan Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina. He is expected to have surgery this week and miss the remainder of the season, but Howland said his status for practice is still unknown.
McConathy said Ready’s 3-pointer broke his back and he was impressed with how Ready took over down the stretch and tried to make up what MSU lost in Weatherspoon.
“The good thing they’ve got a senior point guard because that senior point guard can pull them together and keep them together,” McConathy said. “When you don’t have that senior point guard leadership, you really struggle. I was really impressed with his leadership and the things that he did. I think that puts them in a position to where they can grow as a team.”
Holman had 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard Eli Wright had 11 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Tyson Carter, a Starkville native, had 10 points on 4 of 15 shooting.
Wright said Ready has always been a motivating presence and he immediately started looking up to him when he arrived at MSU.
“I.J. does what he does,” Wright said. “He knows when he has to knock down shots at crunch time. He’s good at it so we all trust in him that he’s going to make plays.”
Freshman point guard Lamar Peters was not in uniform Monday night after he overslept. With 50 minutes before tipoff, Howland sent a manager to Peters’ dorm to check on him. When he got there, Peters was asleep and Howland told the manager to tell Peters to stay.
“That’s ridiculous,” Howland said. “That’s embarrassing. Everybody has an iPhone that has an alarm on it so put your alarm on.”
Peters was suspended for an 86-61 loss to Central Florida Nov. 17 in Charleston for undisclosed reasons. Howland said he will talk with Peters today and make a determination on his status moving forward.
Peters posted a statement on Twitter apologizing to MSU fans for his mistake.
Ready said his job is to help the young players by creating them shots, but he said there are times he has to take his own shot, like with his 3-pointer.
“If I see they’re not making shots, I’ll make two or three shots, layups or free throws,” Ready said. “I can get my shot whenever I want to because I’ve got the ball the majority of the time. Of course if they’re not making shots, I have to go into the mode of, ‘OK, be more aggressive.'”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
