Michigan State University
Cleveland St
No. 21 Michigan State Defeats Cleveland State, 79-47
12/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 8, 2002
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State has had success recruiting quality players in and around the state. Coach Tom Izzo's first foreign recruit has widened the talent pool.
Slovenia native Erazem Lorbek scored a career-high 16 points and didn't miss a shot as No. 21 Michigan State beat Cleveland State 79-47 Sunday.
Lorbek, a 6-foot-10 reserve freshman, made all four of his field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
"I had some trouble adjusting to the game here, but I feel more comfortable now," Lorbek said. "I just shot when I was alone and I made the shots."
The Spartans (4-2) used a big first-half run to put away a second straight opponent.
Michigan State held the Vikings (4-4) without a field goal for the final 7:30 of the first half during the 18-1 run, which gave it a 37-14 halftime lead.
The Spartans used a 17-0 first-half run to beat No. 22 Virginia 82-75 on Wednesday night.
"We really preach that our good teams here were able to go through spurts by really locking teams up," Izzo said. "We're not quite there yet, but we're trying to get to that point. When we play better defensively, we're getting our breaks going and we're getting open shots."
Cleveland State ended a field goal drought of nearly nine minutes early in the second half and outscored Michigan State 10-4 to pull within 17 points. But the Spartans responded with a 12-1 run to take a 53-25 lead midway through the second half.
Jermaine Robinson scored 14 points for Cleveland State, which had won two straight.
"I'm glad this one is over," Cleveland State coach Rollie Massimino said. "They've got all the ingredients. They get after you, they defend you, they play unselfishly and they put the ball in the basket.
"That's a big-time basketball team."
Massimino, who has traditionally attracted foreign players to Cleveland State, was impressed with Lorbek.
"He's very, very good and very skilled," Massimino said. "It's a nice luxury to bring him off the bench."
Defense, rebounding and balanced scoring again helped the Spartans. They held Cleveland State to 31.8 percent shooting and outrebounded it 39-24.
Adam Ballinger scored 14 points, Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson each scored 10 and Chris Hill added nine points, five rebounds and four assists for the Spartans.
Michigan State is at No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday. The Wildcats beat No. 12 North Carolina 98-81 on the road Saturday.
Izzo's major concern heading into that game is turnovers after the Spartans had 20 against Cleveland State, and are averaging over 17 a game.
"We need to take care of the ball because those turnovers will end being layups and dunks against Kentucky," Izzo said. "And 23,000 people will be pulling for them, so it will be a tough place to play."
