College basketball team’s plane makes emergency landing

Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray calls a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, in Columbia, Mo. Mississippi State won the game 77-74. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson) Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray calls a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, in Columbia, Mo. Mississippi State won the game 77-74. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

By Associated Press February 15, 2015 1 min read

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A plane carrying the Mississippi State men’s basketball team has made an emergency landing in St. Louis after one of the engines failed.

The mishap occurred after the Bulldogs defeated the Missouri Tigers 77-74 Saturday in Columbia, Missouri. Mississippi State coach Rick Ray posted on Twitter that the twin-engine plane landed safely. He described hearing a loud noise, then a flight attendant who announced it had “lost an engine” and needed to land.

Team spokesman Gregg Ellis tweeted rooms in St. Louis were “at a premium” due to Mardi Gras and strong winds prevented another plane from leaving Kentucky to pick up the team.

Instead, Ellis says the Bulldogs are spending the night in Festus, Missouri, about an hour away and plan to bus back to Starkville, Mississippi, on Sunday.