Michigan State University
Northwestern
Spartans Top Northwestern, 77-66
1/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -Raymar Morgan scored 22 points and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds to lead No. 10 Michigan State to a 77-66 victory over Northwestern and the Spartans' seventh straight win on Saturday.
Kalin Lucas came on strong after a rough start, scoring all but three of his 18 points in the second half. Chris Allen scored 16 and provided the spark as the Spartans scored the first 12 points of the second half to turn a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
That doused any notion of an upset and sent Michigan State (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) to its 12th consecutive win over Northwestern (8-4, 0-2).
Allen's 3-pointer near the end of the first half cut it to 33-32, and he started the second by burying a jumper and converting another 3 after a dunk by Morgan. Allen finished the run with a driving scoop layup and free throw after Wildcats coach Bill Carmody got called for a technical, making it 44-33 with 15:23 left in the game.
Northwestern's Craig Moore (16 points) did all he could to keep it close, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the half to make it 51-46. But a put-back by Morgan and jumper by Travis Walton made it 64-52 and ended any lingering suspense.
Morgan delivered one of his best performances of the season, hitting nine of 13 shots while falling two rebounds shy of his career high, and the Spartans had a 47-28 edge on the glass.
No surprise there.
Michigan State was leading the league with a plus-8.9 rebounding margin entering the game, and Northwestern got out-rebounded by 22 in a four-point loss at Penn State on Wednesday.
By adding freshmen like 7-footer Kyle Rowley and 6-11 Lura Mirkovic, along with 6-8 John Shurna and 6-9 Davide Curletti, the Wildcats expect to dish out a few bumps after taking more than their share while going 8-22 overall and 1-17 in the conference last season.
But Michigan State refused to let the Wildcats make any statement at its expense - no matter how hard they tried.
Kevin Coble scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half, hitting two 3s and converting back-to-back late in the half to tie it at 28. That drew a loud "Let's go 'Cats" chant from the student section and the cheers intensified when Moore hit a 3-pointer to give Northwestern a three-point lead with just over three minutes remaining.
He added a layup in the closing minute, before Allen buried a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcats' lead to 33-32.
