Fears' Second-Half Takeover Leads Michigan State Past Washington
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Michigan State's "floor general" played his best when it mattered most.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 14 points during the second half, leading the 12th-ranked Spartans past Washington on Saturday night, 80-63. Fears finished with 19 points and five assists, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
This Quad 1 road victory that adds to the Spartans' NCAA Tournament resume improves Michigan State to 16-2 overall and 6-1 during Big Ten play. The Huskies dropped to 10-8 and 2-5, respectively.
The Spartans will remain on the West Coast for a few more days. They will travel south to Eugene to take on Oregon (8-10, 1-6) on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, FS1).
First Half
Offense came relatively easily for both teams out of the gate. Michigan State and UW traded some buckets, but neither team found real separation in the opening minutes. After the initial feeling-out period died down, the Spartans were on the right side of the first big swing of the game.
Beginning about six minutes into the half, MSU used a 10-0 run that flipped a two-point advantage for the Huskies into an eight-point lead for itself. Denham Wojcik came in and provided a good run, and Kur Teng knocked down two threes during the run.
Michigan State's lead got as high as 12 later on in the first half, but the offense went a little bit cold towards the end of the half, making just two of its last 10 shots. The Huskies made their last three attempts, which helped them draw to within eight at the break, with the score at 39-31.
Teng led the Spartans with eight points in the half. Washington star Hannes Steinbach led both teams with 11 points and seven rebounds when both teams went back to the locker room.
Second Half
The final 20 minutes were bound to be interesting. MSU and UW are two of the best teams in the Big Ten during second halves. Washington seemed to have most of the momentum shortly after the half began, trimming into the Spartans' lead a little bit.
One big moment was when Cam Ward was called for a Flagrant 1 foul after he intentionally fouled a member of the Huskies when they were trying to establish the fastbreak. Michigan State got off relatively easy, though, as Washington went 1-for-2 at the line and then didn't score on the ensuing additional possession.
Shortly after that, Fears. He's better known for his passing, but Fears ended up going on a 10-2 run over about three minutes by himself. Carson Cooper also contributed two points (on an assist from Fears) during the stretch to make it a 12-2 run. That extended the Spartans' lead out to 15.
Washington got within 10 after that, but no further. MSU went on another run, highlighted by a Fears to Coen Carr alley-oop, that put the game away. It all added up to a fourth consecutive Big Ten victory for the Spartans.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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