Resounding Finish Propels No. 11 Michigan State to 79-65 Road Victory Over Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It took a little longer than it had hoped, but No. 11 Michigan State finally secured Tom Izzo his special night.

With the Spartans' 79-65 road victory over Illinois on Saturday, Izzo collected win No. 354 against a Big Ten opponent, passing the great Bob Knight for most conference wins by a Big Ten head coach.

Despite trailing big in the first half, the Spartans dug deep and produced strong finishes to both halves.

Michigan State was led by junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who posted a career-high and game-high 23 points while also grabbing a game-high 10 boards to earn the double-double. His scoring effort included a career-best four 3-pointers.

Other strong performances from the Spartans included those of junior guard Tre Holloman, who totaled 14 points, freshman guard Jase Richardson, who recorded 11 and sophomore forward Coen Carr, who tallied 10.

The Fighting Illini quickly got out to a 6-0 start and would eventually turn that into a sizeable 17-6 advantage after making three consecutive buckets from downtown.

A little while later, Spartan sophomore forward Xavier Booker would knock one down from deep to make it just a two-possession game. But that's as close as Michigan State would get until the 3:42 mark of the half.

Illinois would go up by as many as 16, a lead that suggested a fourth loss in five games was looming for the visitors.

It wasn't until the last 6 minutes of the half that the Spartans would truly start to put up a fight. A converted and-1 from Carr would kick start a 13-0 run that consisted of 7 points from Kohler, including a basket from deep, and another bucket from Carr.

Just like that, it was just a 1-point game with 2:10 to go before the break.

A triple from Illinois freshman forward Will Riley would quickly extend the Illini's lead back to 4 before Kohler answered with another one of his own.

But Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis would get the last say before halftime, as he found the bottom of the net with his second 3-pointer of the half. He led the game with 13 at the break. The Spartans would hold him to just 4 the rest of the way.

Michigan State came out hot to start the second half, putting together a 7-2 run that was capped off by yet another triple from Kohler, which would give the Spartans their first lead of the contest.

Michigan State would go up by 4 before an 8-0 run from the Illini would flip momentum back in their favor as they then went up 4 with 14:45 to play.

Almost a minute later, an alley-oop from from Holloman to junior center Carson Cooper would even the game at 52 apiece.

For nearly the next 8 minutes, neither team could gain more than a one-possession edge. That would finally change with a converted and-1 from Richardson, which gave Michigan State a 4-point lead again.

A dunk from Cooper would then put the Spartans up 7 with just over 3-and-a-half minutes to go. Less than 2 minutes later, fittingly so, it would be Kohler who all but iced the game with a converted-and-1 that would give Michigan State a 10-point cushion with less than 2 minutes left.

Michigan State closed the game with a 15-0 run. To call it dominant would be an understatement.

The Spartans clinch the season sweep of the Illini and improve to 20-5 on the year. They will return home for yet another tough task when they host No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday.

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