Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Richmond Spiders Match Player Stats On Mar 25, 2021

D.J. Stewart Jr. made the decisive 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to finish with 22 points as fourth-seeded Mississippi State defeated second-seeded Richmond 68-67 in an NIT quarterfinal on Thursday night in Denton, Texas.

Stewart took advantage of the opportunity presented when Andre Gustavson missed the front end of a one-and-one with a chance to extend Richmond's two-point lead with 8.7 seconds left.

The 16th lead change of the game held up when the Spiders' last-gasp pass into the frontcourt was deflected into the backcourt by the Bulldogs. Iverson Molinar added 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting as the Bulldogs (17-14) advanced to face fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech or third-seeded Western Kentucky in the semifinals Saturday in Frisco, Texas.

Jacob Gilyard scored 22 and Matt Grace added 16 to lead Richmond (14-9).

Mississippi State's Javian Davis made a 3-pointer to start the second-half scoring and break a 34-all tie.

The lead grew to 44-39 on Molinar's dunk before Richmond scored seven straight.

Stewart's jumper tied the score at 57 with under eight minutes remaining.

Grace's jumper to give the Spiders a 61-57 lead with just under six minutes left.

The Bulldogs got within two points on three occasions and Stewart made a layup and two free throws to tie the score at 65 with 50 seconds left.

Gilyard broke the tie by making a jumper on Richmond's ensuing possession.

Molinar made two jumpers for the Bulldogs' first points, but Grace hit a 3-pointer and Gilyard made two 3-pointers to give Richmond a 9-4 lead.

Abdul Ado sandwiched two layups around one by Molinar to give the Bulldogs a 10-9 lead.

The Spiders regained the lead on a layup by Gustavson and it grew to as many as seven points before the Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at halftime, 34-34.

--Field Level Media