Spartans Handle Hoosiers, 84-72

Jan 31, 2004

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By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Paul Davis scored in a number of ways, none of which could be stopped by Indiana.

Davis scored a career-high 32 points and Michigan State made a second-half surge in an 84-72 win over the Hoosiers on Saturday night.

"We had nobody who could guard him," Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "Really, no one can guard him. I've watched him on tape. A lot of times when he misses shots, it's because he's tired."

Davis often caught passes near the basket, but the sophomore center did not rely on the same move to score.

One time down the court, he made a turnaround jumper. The next, he made a drop-step move. The next, he dribbled to set up a reverse layup.

Davis made 11 of 16 shots from the field and 10 of 12 at the free throw line.

"He got great position and that gave him options," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "He could score over them, under them, or around them."

Michigan State (10-8, 5-2 Big Ten) moved into a second-place tie in the Big Ten with the Hoosiers, a half-game behind idle Wisconsin. The Spartans have won five of six Big Ten games since dropping their conference opener at Wisconsin.

"We had to have this game," Davis said.

Davis scored 15 points in the first half. He surpassed his previous career high of 24 -- set in a loss to Kentucky this season -- with 12 minutes left in game.

"I had to be aggressive," Davis said.

Michigan State trailed by eight a couple minutes before halftime before closing the half with seven straight points. After the game was tied at 39 early in the second half, the Spartans put the game away with a 25-7 run.

"I thought we fought hard in the first half," Mike Davis said. "We gave it everything we had, but they were a littler stronger than us."

The Spartans are 41-2 at home against Big Ten teams since the 1998-99 season.

Indiana (11-7, 5-2) had won five straight -- including three on the road -- for its longest Big Ten winning streak in six years. With a chance to take sole possession of the conference lead, the Hoosiers lost their 11th straight game at Michigan State.

But Davis still likes his team's chances in the conference race.

"We can win it," he said. "It's right there for us."

Bracey Wright led the Hoosiers with 29 points, and Marshall Strickland scored 14. Wright made 6 of 13 3-pointers, several from well beyond the 3-point arc. Indiana had won 11 straight when scoring at least 70.

Two minutes into the second half, Kelvin Torbert made a 3-pointer to put Michigan State ahead for the first time since it led 10-9.

Chris Hill scored 11 for the Spartans. Torbert and Alan Anderson each scored 10. All three players had five assists apiece.

The Spartans made 59.6 percent of their shots and held Indiana to 42.1 percent.

"It was a big win for us," said Izzo, who won his 199th game. "And it was big because of the way we won."

The Spartans have made more than 60 percent of their second-half shots in Big Ten games this season.

Michigan State made seven of its first nine shots, but trailed 24-17 because the Hoosiers missed just two of their first 11 attempts, three of which were on Wright's 3-pointers.

"They weren't missing at the beginning," Anderson said.

Indiana led by eight with 2:23 left in the first half, but led just 35-34 at halftime. Michigan State is 2-8 this season when trailing at halftime.