Michigan State Beats WMU Behind Career-High 24 Points From Joey Hauser

A late jolt from the Michigan State Spartans leads to a comfortable 79-61 victory over WMU.

East Lansing, MI – For the second game in a row, the Spartans started slow and were battling Western Michigan, a mid-major, who kept pace with MSU from the onset.

At the first media timeout, each team had three rebounds, three assists and made four out of seven field goals.

By the 12-minute marker, the Broncos had gone on an 8-0 run, leading Michigan State 17-12, whereas MSU was in the midst of a 2:40 scoring drought.

The defense was a step slow, allowing WMU to score inside while big man Titus Wright gave the Spartans trouble early with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and four boards (30 of Western's 61 points came from inside the paint).

However, with the clock reading 5:33, Michigan State had gained momentum, scoring eight straight after Rocket Watts pushed the ball in transition, dishing it to Joshua Langford on the wing, who drained it from outside, resulting in an 18-5 MSU advantage.

Tom Izzo was fired up, in a good way, after Watts (tied a career-high six assists) showcased his ability to score at will and get his teammates involved.

But the 65-year old was less than pleased with Marcus Bingham, a player he talked to on multiple occasions throughout the night and replaced with Julius Marble, an answer inside defensively.

Joey Hauser came out hot as well, hitting three out of four attempts for nine first-half points, but MSU missed its final six shots and relinquished a 10-point lead with 3:34 left.

In doing so, Michigan State entered the locker room up four points to a Bronco team that lost two of its best players to the transfer portal after Western fired Steve Hawkins.

Less than five minutes into the second half, the Spartans looked like a different team, playing with far more energy and fire.

Hauser started a lot of the action, hitting a three-pointer, grabbing four rebounds, one assist, and one block in that time.

He finished with a career-high 24-points, 10 rebounds (third double-double), six made field goals from deep, and four assists.

Yet, WMU kept fighting and attacking the paint, scoring nearly half its points from that area, closing the gap to 52-48 (7-0 run, 11:50 left).

The Spartans needed some help, and six turnovers in the previous four minutes weren't going to cut it, yet MSU held a seven-point lead with under nine minutes to go.

Three triples from Hauser, a finish in traffic from Langford, and Henry's layup provided Michigan State some much-needed breathing room.

Western Michigan wouldn't threaten MSU for the remainder of the contest, and the Spartans improved to 5-0 following a 79-61 victory.

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