Michigan State University
Northwestern
Spartans Fall To Northwestern, 61-49
2/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 6, 2002
By RICK GANO
AP Sports Writer
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Winston Blake scored 16 points and Tavaras Hardy added 14 as Northwestern closed the game on an 8-0 run Wednesday night and beat Michigan State 61-49.
Michigan State played without leading scorer Marcus Taylor (15.2 points), who suffered a concussion in the second half of the Spartans' win at Illinois on Sunday and stayed on the bench Wednesday night.
Michigan State (13-9, 4-5 Big Ten) didn't score over the final 2:51 and managed 20 points while shooting 35 percent in the second half. Adam Ballinger scored 15 points and Chris Hill added 10 for the Spartans.
Michigan State had won the seven previous games and 27 of 28 in the lopsided series. The Wildcats (13-8, 4-5) last beat the Spartans on Jan. 19, 1997.
Blake, coming off a career-high 25 points at Ohio State, had a three-point play and a 3-pointer and Collier Drayton and Vedran Vukusic added 3-pointers as the Wildcats opened up a 53-45 lead with 5:35 left.
State got within four points, but Drayton drove for a basket, was fouled and converted a three-point play with 2:30 left.
Blake's two free throws a minute later put the Wildcats up nine, and then Jitim Young stole the ball and drove for a layup with just over a minute to go.
Northwestern led 30-29 at halftime as Hardy hit three 3-pointers. He finished the game with four, giving him nine in his past three games. In his previous 107 games, he had also made nine.
