I.J. Ready scored a team-high 14 points and Aric Holman added 13 points and seven rebounds to help Mississippi State beat Northwestern State 65-59 on Monday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.

Eli Wright had 11 points and seven rebounds and Tyson Carter chipped in 10 points for Mississippi State (4-2), which improved to 12-6 at home since the start of last season.

The Bulldogs were without Quinndary Weatherspoon, their leading scorer who averaged 18.8 points but sustained a season-ending wrist injury.

Fortunately, Mississippi State boasts four players who are averaging at least 11.4 points per game, helping to ease the loss of Weatherspoon.

The Bulldogs bounced back from its 87-73 loss to Lehigh last Friday.

Northwestern State leading scorer Zeek Woodley scored a game-best 28 points and was the only double-digit scorer for the Demons (2-4), who fell to 2-17 on the road dating to the start of last campaign.

The Demons have lost two straight after taking a 84-60 thumping from Missouri last Saturday.

Tra'von Joseph's jumper with 14:25 left in the first half capped a 14-4 game-opening run that gave Northwestern State its largest lead of the game.

The Bulldogs battled back to take the lead on Tyson Carter's dunk with 6:32 to go before the break, making it 22-20.

A Woodley 3-pointer with five seconds to go in the half made it 28-28 entering halftime.

Northwestern State reclaimed the lead early in the second half, going ahead by as many as six points on Sabri Thompson's 3-pointer with 16:11 left.

Again, Mississippi State battled back to tie it at 39 with 12:24 on the clock, and the Bulldogs led for the majority of the final 10 minutes.

The Demons' only lead in the last 10 minutes came on a Devonte Hall free throw that made it 54-53 with five minutes to go.