Jackson Free Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Lamar Peters had a career-best 24 points to lead Mississippi State to an 82-60 win over Georgia State on Sunday.

Peters, a freshman, made a career-best six three-pointers in nine attempts as Mississippi State (6-2) won its third straight. Earlier this week, Peters missed the Bulldogs' win over Northwestern (La.) State due to oversleeping.

"I just wanted to go out and let the game come to me," said Peters, who also had six rebounds and four assists. "I wanted to take my time and be patient. Coach (Ben) Howland always tells me to be patient and I felt good tonight.

"I guess it was time for me to wake up. I knew I owed it to my team and it was selfish of me to oversleep like that."

Fellow freshman Mario Kegler also had a career-best 16 points and was 4 of 8 beyond the arc. MSU made a season-high 13 3-pointers, the most 3-pointers made by the Bulldogs since sinking 15 against N.C. A&T In 2010.

"That was a very good win for us, completing eight games in 23 days," said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. "I am really happy for our team and I think Georgia State is really good. They are going to win a ton of games. They are highly-athletic guys and have a lot of older guys. So it wasn't just about winning today. It was about beating a good team."

Quinndary Weatherspoon added 14 points and I.J. Ready had 11 for the Bulldogs.

Isaiah Williams led Georgia State (4-3) with 16 points and Justin Seymour had 10. For the game, Georgia State shot 40.3 percent from the field and made 6 of 19 three points. The Panthers had 18 turnovers and both teams had 37 rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 47 percent from the field and had 11 turnovers.

"I thought Mississippi State shot the ball really well and we played our worst game of the year," said Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter. "We were concerned about Weatherspoon and knew Peters was a streaky shooter. They are a really good basketball team when he is making shots like that."

Mississippi State jumped to an 8-3 lead in the first half before Georgia State responded with an 11-2 run to go up 16-10. The lead would change hands 10 times in the first half before the Bulldogs settled in for a 44-36 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs made 7 of 17 three pointers and shot 44 percent from the field in the first half. The teams combined for 14 turnovers in the first half and the Panthers shot 46.9 percent in the opening half.

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State: Sunday's game marked the second straight outing for sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon. He missed two games earlier this season with a wrist injury and has averaged 17.5 points since returning.

Georgia State: The Panthers faced their second SEC opponent of the season, having dropped a decision to Auburn earlier in the season. Georgia State's last win over an SEC program came in 2003 against Auburn.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs take a long break due to final exams this week and return to action at home on Dec. 14 against East Tennessee State.

Georgia State: The Panthers begin a brief two-game home stand on Saturday against Georgia Southwestern.