Clemson Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Box Score on Dec 08, 2018

Lamar Peters scored a career-high 28 points as No. 22 Mississippi State topped Clemson 82-71 Saturday afternoon in a Never Forget Tribute Classic game at Newark, N.J.

The tournament helps raise money and awareness for the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund for families impacted by 9/11.

Peters, a junior guard, made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, including a career-high 8 of 11 3-point attempts as Mississippi State improved to 8-1 with its fifth consecutive victory.

Clemson, which was playing without leading scorer Marcquise Reed, fell to 6-3 with its third loss in four games.

Reed, who paces the Tigers in scoring at 19.4 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding, is sidelined indefinitely after suffering a knee bruise in Clemson's win against Saint Peter's on Tuesday.

Senior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon added 20 points for Mississippi State while senior forward Aric Holman had 16. Peters, Weatherspoon and Holman combined to make 17 of 26 3-pointers, and the Bulldogs shot a blistering 63.3 percent from beyond the arc as a team.

Sophomore forward Aamir Simms led Clemson with a career-high 23 points, including a career-best four 3-pointers. Senior forward Elijah Thomas added 18 points, and senior forward David Skara had 12.

Mississippi State never trailed and built a 19-point lead with 3:59 left in the first half behind Peters and Holman, who teamed to connect on 7 of 11 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

Clemson closed the gap late in the half as Simms had 14 points, including a pair of threes in the final minute, to pull the Tigers to within eight, 42-34, at the half.

Clemson continued to chip away at the Bulldogs' lead and pulled within five points, 65-60, on a layup by Thomas with 9:15 left.

But Holman, Tyson Carter and Weatherspoon hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to quickly push the Bulldogs' lead to 14, 74-60, and Clemson never drew closer than 11 the rest of the way.

The defeat was Clemson's first in four all-time meetings against Mississippi State and snapped the Tigers' seven-game winning streak against Southeastern Conference opponents.

--Field Level Media