Senior Quinndary Weatherspoon scored a career-high 31 points, including one of three free throws with a fraction of second left, as Mississippi State survived a fevered Georgia comeback bid for a 68-67 win Wednesday night in Athens, Ga.

Georgia trailed by 17 points on two occasions early in the second half but fought back to tie the game on a Tyree Crump 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.

Weatherspoon was fouled while trying to get off a shot in the closing seconds, and as he was missing the first free throw, someone in the crowd threw a stuffed animal on the court, apparently in protest of the foul call. It landed several feet from Weatherspoon.

A technical foul was called, and Weatherspoon made that free throw before intentionally missing the second foul shot from the original foul call, so the clock expired before Georgia (10-16, 1-12 Southeastern Conference) could get off a shot.

Weatherspoon took over late in the first half, scoring 12 points in the final 3:19, when his first 3-pointer of the game ignited a 16-1 run that turned a four-point Mississippi State deficit into a 36-25 lead at halftime.

Reggie Perry finished with 12 points and five rebounds for Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6). Tyson Carter, starting in place of the suspended Nick Weatherspoon, added 11 points and four assists.

When Mississippi State scored the first six points of the second half, four of those by Weatherspoon, the lead was up to 42-25, and it was 44-27 with 17:50 to play.

Georgia then found its shooting touch and ate into the deficit, with Rayshaun Hammonds, Jordan Harris and Derek Ogbeide all playing big roles.

Harris scored 13 points to lead Georgia, which lost its seventh straight game and 11th of last 12. Hammonds added 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He also chipped in four assists.

Mississippi State shot 49 percent from the floor, including 7 of 17 on 3-point attempts. Georgia overcame shooting only 29 percent in the first half to finish at 41.7 percent for the game, including 9 of 25 from 3-point range.

--Field Level Media