Michigan State Breezes Past Detroit Mercy Behind Tough Defense
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — No. 17 Michigan State used another quality performance from its defense to easily best Detroit Mercy on Friday night, 84-56.
Redshirt sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led the way again, scoring a career-high 18 points and dishing out 11 assists while being plus-28 in 28 minutes in the win. Junior forward Coen Carr also had 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Spartans improved to 5-0 on the season and are primed to rise several spots in next Monday’s AP Poll after its blowout win over No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday. Detroit Mercy, coached by former MSU assistant Mark Montgomery, fell to 1-5 with the loss.
Next up for Michigan State is a trip to Fort Myers, Fla., for two neutral-site games against East Carolina next Tuesday and against No. 18 North Carolina on Thanksgiving.
First Half
Michigan State looked like the superior team right out of the gate. The Spartans began the game on a 10-0 run and had it at 17-4 eight minutes into the contest. What stood out early was MSU’s stifling defense, which held the Titans to a 2-for-18 start.
Carr also had a hot start. He hit two three-pointers early and reached 11 points less than seven minutes into the game. Friday was Carr’s first-ever game with multiple made threes.
Even with the quality start, there were some early issues that head coach Tom Izzo will probably address. The Titans grabbed a few offensive rebounds early on and MSU committed a few sloppy turnovers. The Spartans’ entry passes into the post were also not very clean, and there were a fair amount of loose balls on that end.
Detroit Mercy stabilized things a bit after that 17-4 run to open the game, getting its deficit down to eight on its own 7-2 run. MSU’s offense still didn’t look that sharp, but the Spartans were able to get some looks in the paint to extend the lead back out into double figures.
Michigan State entered the locker room with a 41-25 lead, but it had left some points out there, missing five free throws in the final two minutes of the first half.
Carr’s 11 points still led the way for either side. Fears also had eight points and five assists during the first 20 minutes.
Second Half
MSU quickly began the final 20 minutes on a 6-2 run that extended its lead to 20 for the first time in the game.
The threes started to fall again, too. Trey Fort drilled one from the corner and Jaxon Kohler was true from the left wing, which made it a 22-point game.
That difference stayed around that level for a bit. Michigan State’s defense continued to make nearly everything difficult on the Titans, but the Spartans had then started to struggle hitting some looks from deep and left some opportunities out there to extend their lead by even more. They missed five straight threes after Kohler’s into the under-12 timeout.
One of the most exciting sequences was then generated by Fears with a little more than eight minutes remaining. He hit a three on one end, Kur Teng got a steal on the other, and then Fears found Carr for a loud alley-oop. Those couple of possessions got Fears to a career-high 16 points and nine assists. He reached double-double status not long after.
With the lead still in excess of 20, Izzo still had several of his starters in with five minutes to go, perhaps to get them more used to playing full games. Several different reserves entered with about three and a half minutes left.
The Spartans cruised to the end from there, finishing off the 84-56 win. Much to the delight of the Izzone, Nick Sanders hit a three in the closing moments, as well.
Top Performers
Jeremy Fears Jr.: Career-high 18 points, 11 assists
Coen Carr: 13 points, 7 rebounds
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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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