No. 14 MSU Overpowers No. 12 Wolverines in Second Half, Steals 75-62 Road Victory

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the second time in seven days, No. 14 Michigan State went into a hostile Big Ten road environment and made it its own.

This time, it was against its greatest rivals, as the Spartans bested a Michigan team that had previously been perfect at home, handing the No. 12 Wolverines a 75-62 defeat to end their six-game win streak.

After trailing at halftime, the Spartans turned things around in the second half, outscoring the home team, 41-24, in those last 20 minutes.

Michigan State was led by freshman guard Jase Richardson, who scored a team-high 21 points while grabbing six rebounds. Behind him was junior guard Tre Holloman, who turned in 18 points.

The Spartans made a statement early on, getting out to a 7-2 start, which was kicked off by a 3-pointer from Richardson.

Michigan State would go up by as many as 8 points when senior guard Jaden Akins drained one from beyond the arc to make it a 16-8 contest with less than 13 minutes to go in the half.

Akins posted 11 points in the win.

The game would then take a major turn, though, as Michigan went on a 15-0 run that was capped off by a triple from graduate guard Nimari Burnett, giving the Wolverines a 7-point edge with just over 8 minutes to play until the break. The Spartans went 0-for-7 from the field and turned the ball over three times during that stretch.

Michigan State would start to climb back into it with a 7-3 run that consisted of 5 points from Holloman and a putback slam from sophomore forward Coen Carr.

The Wolverines would eventually go back up by as many as 8 for what was the second time. That would be their largest lead of the contest.

A 3-pointer from sophomore forward Xavier Booker would cut it back down to a two-possession game with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half.

Michigan would lead, 38-34, at the break.

The Spartans shot just 38.7% from the field and committed nine turnovers in the first half. Meanwhile, the Wolverines turned the ball over seven times yet shot nearly 54%.

Michigan State opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers -- one from Richardson and one from Fears.

The Wolverines were able to take back the lead with two straight buckets from graduate center Vladislav Goldin, before a 6-0 run from the Spartans allowed them to take it right back.

Goldin led the Wolverines with 21 points.

Shortly after, a 3 from Burnett would make it just a 1-point game before Holloman would quickly answer with one of his own. After another basket from Michigan, Holloman drilled two more from downtown, giving the Spartans an 8-point lead with less than 11 minutes to go.

Those triples would be the first points of an 11-2 run by the Spartans, one that gave them their largest lead of the game at 11, with just under 8 minutes remaining.

Michigan was able to respond with its own lengthy run, 8 unanswered points that would cut the Spartans' lead down to just 3 with just over 5-and-a-half minutes remaining.

But that was as close as the Wolverines got the rest of the way.

Michigan State would have just a two-possession lead as the minutes dwindled, but a banked 3 from redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. would all but ice the game, as the Spartans would have a 6-point advantage with 2:17 remaining.

Fears totaled 10 points in the victory.

The Spartans closed the game on a 9-0 run.

With the win, Michigan State takes back sole possession of the Big Ten with four games remaining. Its next matchup will be another road meeting when it takes on No. 20 Maryland on Wednesday.

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