Saturday, January 5
Columbus, Ohio
noon ET
Michigan State University
13-2
86
at
77
Ohio State
12-2
1
2
F
MSU
36
50
86
Ohio State
43
34
77
Big Second Half Propels No. 8 Michigan State Past No. 14 Ohio State, 86-77
1/5/2019 3:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Columbus, Ohio – Junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 25 points and junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) had 21 points and eight rebounds as No. 8 Michigan State used a big second half to pull away from No. 14 Ohio State for an 86-77 win at Value City Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Records
Michigan State, winners of eight-straight games and 13 of its last 14 overall, improves to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State falls to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Summary
Michigan State returns home to the Breslin Center on Tuesday, Jan. 8, hosting Purdue. Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN2, with Dave Flemming calling the play-by-play, Dan Dakich serving as the color analyst and Molly McGrath on sidelines.
Records
Michigan State, winners of eight-straight games and 13 of its last 14 overall, improves to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten, while Ohio State falls to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Summary
- Michigan State trailed by seven points, 43-36, at the break but closed the gap early in the second half and it was back and forth from that point, with nine ties and six lead changes.
- Down 50-42 after a jumper from Kyle Young, MSU went on a 9-0 run and took a 51-50 lead on a 3-pointer from freshman forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) with 14:42 to play.
- Tied at 55-all, MSU used a 9-5 burst to take a 64-59 lead on free throws from sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian), but Ohio State tied the game back up on a layup from Andre Wesson with 7:56 to play.
- There were four more ties and six lead changes in the next three minutes. Ohio State took a 72-71 lead on free throws from Keyshawn Woods with 4:53 left, but MSU responded with an 8-0 run to take a 79-72 lead on free throws from Henry with 1:07 left.
- The Buckeyes pulled to within six points, 81-75, with 44 seconds left after a layup from Luther Muhammad and got the ball back after a turnover by redshirt senior Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott), but Goins promptly stole the ball back and Winston was fouled. He hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to make it 83-75 and hit three of his next four in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
- The first half was back and forth as well, with five ties and five lead changes.
- The Spartans took their biggest lead of half, 16-11, on a jumper from senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) with 12:37 to play.
- Ohio State had closed out the first half with a 12-5 run over the final 2:48 and took a 43-36 lead following a 3-pointer from Kaleb Wesson with seconds left.
- Winston scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, connecting on 8-of-12 shots from the floor, and handed out five assists.
- Ward finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, connecting on 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 11-of-14 from the free throw line.
- McQuaid.added 12 points and six rebounds
- Michigan State outscored Ohio State, 50-34, in the second half and connected on 76.5 percent of its shots during the final 20 minutes (13-of-17), while hitting 84-6 percent of its free throws (22-of-26) in that span.
- The Spartans held a 37-26 advantage in rebounding.
- MSU connected on 30-of-37 free throws, 81.1 percent.
- This was the 11th time this season Michigan State has scored at least 80 points.
- Michigan State connected on 54.3 percent of its field goals (25-of-46), the 10th game this season the team has connected on at least 50 percent of its field goals and the seventh-straight.
- Winston led Michigan State in scoring for the sixth time this season.
- He has scored at least 20 points six times this season, including three of the last four games, averaging 21.8 points per game in that span.
- Ward scored at least 20 points for the seventh time this season and the 18th time of his career.
- This was Ward's 12th game in double figures and the 57th of his career.
- McQuaid reached double figures in scoring for the sixth time this season.
- MSU connected on a season-high 30 free throws with a season-high 37 attempts. The team's 81.1 free throw percentage was the second-highest (81.8 percent vs. ULM).
Michigan State returns home to the Breslin Center on Tuesday, Jan. 8, hosting Purdue. Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN2, with Dave Flemming calling the play-by-play, Dan Dakich serving as the color analyst and Molly McGrath on sidelines.
Team Stats
MSU
OSU
FG%
.543
.435
3FG%
.333
.292
FT%
.811
.762
RB
37
26
TO
12
5
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballG
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