Michigan State Downs Michigan in OT

Feb. 01, 2015

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Denzel Valentine had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Michigan State held rival Michigan scoreless in overtime, outlasting the Wolverines 76-66 on Sunday.

With two of their best players on crutches, the Wolverines (13-9, 6-4 Big Ten) pushed Michigan State throughout, but the Spartans (15-7, 6-3) shook off some poor early shooting and finally put Michigan away in the extra session. Branden Dawson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello scored 10 points each for Michigan State.

Spike Albrecht and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 18 points each for Michigan, which was without injured guards Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton. Zak Irvin added 11 points for the Wolverines.

Michigan State shot 29 percent in the first half and 71 percent in the second.

Valentine was coming off a 2-for-13 showing in a win at Rutgers, but he was sharp throughout against Michigan. He did miss one big free throw - the front end of a one-and-one with 31 seconds left and Michigan State up two. Max Bielfeldt tied it at 66 on a tip-in with 20 seconds remaining, and Travis Trice missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Spartans.

Michigan missed all five of its field goal attempts in overtime, four of which came from 3-point range. Valentine started the extra session with a layup. Costello added the next four Michigan State points and later blocked a shot from beyond the arc by Irvin.

LeVert is out for the season with a foot injury, and Walton has been dealing with a toe problem. The Wolverines have been getting by lately using some unusual lineup combinations, and that continued in the first half Sunday.

With Michigan in early foul trouble, guard Andrew Dakich, who had played only 14 minutes all season, played 13 in the first half.

But despite Michigan's injury problems, the crowd that came to the Breslin Center in the middle of a snowstorm was treated to quite a game - there were 21 lead changes and nine ties before the Spartans pulled away in overtime.

Abdur-Rahkman, a freshman who was averaging 2.3 points per game, was in the starting lineup and scored seven in the first half, although he picked up two fouls and played only nine minutes before halftime.

Trice had nine assists for the Spartans, one more than the whole Michigan team.

Michigan State hosts Illinois on Saturday.