Stansbury wins in his return to MSU

STARKVILLE – Rick Stansbury tallied one more victory at Humphrey Coliseum.

It won’t add to his official win total, but the former Mississippi State coach, sitting on the opposite end of the court Wednesday night as a member of Billy Kennedy’s Texas A&M coaching staff, walked out of the arena with a smile on his face.

MSU freshman Quinndary Weatherspoon banked in a 3 as time expired, but the buzzer signified a 61-60 win for the Aggies.

“I know he won’t tell us, but I saw a smile on his face after the game,” Texas A&M guard Alex Caruso said. “It means a lot to him. He loves this place. He loves all the fans during his tenure when he was here. I feel really proud that I can help him get a win.”

Mississippi State honored Stansbury prior to the game.  Stansbury coached 459 games at Mississippi State. He guided MSU to two SEC tournament championships and six divisional crowns. He has the most wins in school history with 293.

“Rick’s not about himself. He was so wrapped up in this game,” Kennedy said. “He was a scout and had these guys prepared. He was like a mad scientist on the board before the game.”

The game came down to free throws. Admon Gilder made his to put A&M up four with seconds remaining. It negated any significance of Weatherspoon’s buzzer-beater.

With MSU down two and 1:35 remaining, the Bulldogs' Malik Newman went to the line and missed both free throws.

“It was real frustrating,” Newman said. “..It was a crucial moment. I feel like I disappointed my team.”

Newman finished with 14 points.

He buried a 3 with to give MSU a 53-52 lead about a minute prior to missing the free throws. It came during a span where the freshman combined with Gavin Ware to score 11-straight points for the Bulldogs.

Ware scored all 15 points in the second half. He recorded his fourth double-double of the season grabbing 13 rebounds.

“I feel as if I was rushing a little bit (in the first half). I wasn’t settling down,” Ware said. “It was just about that double team. Figuring out where it was coming from.”

Mississippi State dismantled A&M’s game plan out of the gate, holding the Aggies to 4-of-26 shooting through the first 16 minutes of play. The Bulldogs took advantage taking an eight point lead.

The Aggies caught fire making three shots in less than a minute

Weatherspoon kept Mississippi State close in the first half. The freshman scored nine points to go with four rebounds and two assists. He led the team in all three categories heading into halftime.

“Coach told me, come out and be aggressive. This isn’t a regular game,” Weatherspoon said. “He told me this was going to be a very fast game. I did what he told me to do.”

As for the current regime, Ben Howland lost his Southeastern Conference opener. The Bulldogs fall to 7-6 on the season.

“That’s a tough loss after a great effort by our team,” Howland said.

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.