No. 6 Michigan State Beats No. 13 Maryland 69-55
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston and Kenny Goins scored 14 points each to help No. 6 Michigan State beat No. 13 Maryland 69-55 Monday night with balanced offense and stifling defense.
The Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) have won 12 straight this season to take sole possession of first in the conference. They have won 20 consecutive Big Ten regular season games dating to last year.
The Terrapins (16-4, 7-2) had a shot to move into first place in the conference, but couldn't extend their seven-game winning streak.
Maryland's leading scorer, Anthony Cowan, was held to a season-low seven points.
The Terrapins connected on just 34 percent of their shots against the Spartans after shooting 58 percent of in their previous game, a 14-point win at Ohio State.
Michigan State freshman Aaron Henry scored a season-high 12 points while Matt McQuaid and Xavier Tillman had 10 points apiece.
Bruno Fernando had 12 points and 13 rebounds, freshman Aaron Wiggins had a season-high 15 points and Darryl Morsell added 10 points.
The Spartans missed their first six shots then surged to an 18-6 lead while holding Maryland to 3-of-18 shooting.
Maryland started making shots to pull into 20-all tie before Michigan State closed half with an 11-0 run to lead 31-20.
Winston, who had just five points in the first half, opened the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Spartans ahead by 14. He had a three-point play a couple minutes later, giving Michigan State a 43-26 lead. Goins made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 22 with 15:28 left.
The Terrapins rallied to cut their deficit to 11 with 5:42 remaining, but couldn't get closer.
