No. 10 Michigan State Hangs on to Beat Florida, 63-59

Gainesville, Fla. – Junior guard Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) hit a pair of key jumpers late and redshirt junior Kyle Ahrens (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) scored the final seven points for No. 10 Michigan State as the Spartans held on to beat Florida, 63-59, at the O'Connell Center on Saturday afternoon.

Records
Michigan State, winners of eight of the last nine games, improves to 8-2 overall, while Florida falls to 5-4 overall.

Summary

Michigan State took the lead early in the first half and led the rest of the way, extending its lead to 12 points early in the second half, but Florida kept it close to the final minutes.
A jumper from Andrew Membhard and a free throw from Kevarrius Hayes cut the MSU lead to 50-47, but Langford responded with a jumper to make it 52-47 with 6:07 left.
After a conventional three-point play from Hayes made it 52-50, Langford hit a pull-up jumper with 4:33 left to maintain a four-point lead, 54-50.
A basket from sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) pushed the lead to 56-50, but a 3-pointer from KeVaughn Allen made it 56-53 with 3:24 on the clock.
Ahrens responded with a 3-pointer from the left corner, making it 59-53 and hit it a reverse layup with 2:26 left as MSU led 61-55.
The Gators scored two baskets to narrow the gap again to 61-59 with a minute left. After a timeout by MSU, Ahrens picked up a loose ball and drove the baseline for a dunk with eight seconds left to seal the win.
Michigan State took an eight-point lead into the break, 35-27, thanks in part to a combined 16 points from junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) (9) and Tillman (7).
The Gators took a quick 5-0 lead but the Spartans outscored UF, 20-5, and took a 20-10 lead on a basket from Ward at the 8:40 mark.
Florida closed to within 28-25 with 3:24 to play, but MSU scored seven-straight points and extended the lead back to 35-25 after a 3-pointer from senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) and a layup from Tillman.

Key Stats

Tillman led four players in scoring, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Langford added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Ward had 13 points and five rebounds and junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added 10 points and a game-high six assists.
Ahrens scored all seven of his points in the final 3:03 of the game.
After turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, MSU committed only four in the second half.
MSU scored 36 points in the paint, 18 in each half.
The Spartans shot 51.0 percent from the floor (26-of-51), including 60.9 percent in the first half (14-of-23).
Michigan State held a 36-33 advantage in rebounding.

Notes

Michigan State shot 51.0 percent from the floor, the fifth game this season the team has connected on at least 50 percent of its field goals (and the second-straight).
This was the ninth time this season Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent … The Spartans are 8-1 in those games.
Tillman led MSU in scoring for the first time this season … It was the first time he led the team in scoring in his career.
This was Tillman's fifth game this season in double figures and his fourth-straight, averaging 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in that span.
Tillman tied his career high with three steals.
Langford has scored in double figures in every game this season and has 35 career games in double figures.
Winston scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and the 42nd of his career.
Ward scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and the 52nd of his career.
MSU attempted a season-low eight free throws and hit a season-low season seven.
Michigan State now leads the all-time series with Florida, 5-3, and has won three of the last four meetings.

Up Next
Michigan State is off until Sunday, Dec. 16, hosting Green Bay at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.

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Team Stats

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Joshua Langford

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston

Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston

Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston