No. 14 Spartans Down No. 13 Purdue, 75-66, in Crucial Conference Clash

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The last time Michigan State walked off the floor of the Breslin Center, it was in sorrow, as the Spartans had been handed their first home loss of the season, against an opponent they should have defeated.

One week later, a different result.

No. 14 Michigan State conquered No. 13 Purdue, 75-66, in what was one of the most important battles of the season for either team.

The Spartans never trailed in the second half and, in fact, hadn't trailed since the 3:42 mark of the first half.

Michigan State was led by four different Spartans to finish in double figures in scoring -- freshman guard Jase Richardson with 12, senior forward Frankie Fidler with 11, senior guard Jaden Akins with 10 and sophomore forward Coen Carr with 10.

Both teams looked determined out of the gates.

It took more than 10 minutes for either team to gain a notable advantage, as a triple from Purdue freshman guard Gicarri Harris gave the visitors a 6-point lead just over halfway through the first half.

Less than a minute later, another 3-pointer, this time from freshman guard C.J. Cox, would push the Boilermakers' lead to 7, their largest of the game.

It wasn't until the final 4 minutes of the half that Michigan State would finally put together a significant run. A stretch of 10 unanswered points from the Spartans included back-to-back alley-oop jams, the first being a jaw-dropping throwdown by Carr, who was assisted by Richardson.

The second, a slam by senior center Szymon Zapala off a lob from junior guard Tre Holloman, gave Michigan State its first lead since the first 6 minutes of the contest.

The Spartans went up by as many as 4 before Purdue junior guard Fletcher Loyer, brother of former Spartan guard Foster Loyer, drilled one from beyond the arc to make it a 1-point game with 2 minutes to go before halftime.

But Richardson would rebuttal with a 3 of his own as the shot clock was winding down, giving Michigan State just its second bucket from downtown until that point.

The Spartans ultimately led by just 2 at the break.

Michigan State kept the pressure on to open the second half, starting with an 8-0 run that consisted of a Richardson fastbreak dunk, a 3-pointer from junior forward Jaxon Kohler and a converted and-1 from Zapala, who was fouled as he wet finished a lob from redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

The run would give the Spartans their first double-digit lead of the contest.

Roughly 3-and-a-half minutes later, Michigan State would produce another run, this time a resounding 9-2 stretch that was ignited by Fidler, who hit a triple from the corner before picking off a pass and taking off for a fastbreak slam.

The Spartans would take a 13-point lead, their largest of the game.

Purdue was resilient, though, eventually crawling back to within 6 with less than 8 minutes to play.

Michigan State was in need of a big-time play to prevent the Boilermakers from gaining any momentum -- and they got one. Holloman was fouled while throwing up a wild layup that found the bottom of the net.

Purdue kept swinging and even cut the deficit down to 4 with a bucket from star Trey Kaufman-Renn, who finished with a game-high 24 points.

Michigan State shot a stellar 68% from the field in the second half and 58.3% overall. Just a game after committing a season-low seven turnovers, the Spartans gave the ball away just eight times in Tuesday's victory. Ultimately, Michigan State didn't do a whole lot to hurt itself, and that was a large reason it was triumphant.

The Spartans improve to 21-5 on the year and 12-3 in conference play. They will head back out on the road with an opportunity to take back the top spot in the conference when they face their in-state rival, Michigan, at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor on Friday.

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