Bizarre ending to Bulldog basketball game

Mississippi State scratched out the win at Georgia on Wednesday night in the battle of Bulldogs by a 68-67 count at Stegeman Coliseum.

Mississippi State won the game at the free-throw line within the final second.

Quinndary Weatherspoon made one of three free-throw attempts with 0.5 seconds left after he was fouled by Jordan Harris on his shot attempt.

Weatherspoon was granted an extra free-throw attempt via a technical called on UGA because a fan threw an item on the court.

Mississippi State used a 19-0 run to pull away in the final stages of the first half and opening minutes of the second half before the crowd of 7,153.

Coach Ben Howland’s team came from 25-23 down to take a commanding 42-25 lead on Weatherspoon’s drive at the 18:31 mark.

Georgia (10-16, 1-12 SEC) roared back, tying the game 67-67 on Tyree Crump's 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left.

UGA couldn't finish the job, dropping its seventh consecutive, dating to the 98-88 win over Texas on Jan. 26.

Weatherspoon scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting for Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6 SEC), including a pair of free throws with 15.6 seconds left to give his team a 67-64 cushion.

UGA star Nicolas Claxton, who entered the night one of five Division I players leading his team in all five major statistical categories, finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

Claxton didn’t score his first points until the 3:54 mark, giving Georgia a 24-20 lead.

Moments later, Claxton committed his second foul, and coach Tom Crean made what proved to be a critical decision to take him out of the game, contributing to the key MSU run.

Mississippi State held a 36-25 lead at halftime, breaking away with the 16-1, including 13-0, run the final 3:16.

Weatherspoon led the charge, scoring 12 of those 16 points as Mississippi State made its final seven shots of the first half.

Georgia committed four of its seven opening-half turnovers in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Georgia returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ole Miss (TV: SEC Network). The Rebels beat the Bulldogs by an 80-64 count in Athens earlier this month, on Feb. 9.

It’s the first of five regular-season games remaining for Georgia, which returns to the Classic City for a home game against Auburn at 9 p.m. Wednesday.