Thursday, November 25
Nassau, The Bahamas
noon
Michigan State University
5-1,0-0Big Ten
64
vs
60
UConn
5-1,0-0Big East
1
2
F
UConn
24
36
60
Michigan St.
32
32
64
Photo by: Bahamas Visual Services
Michigan State Uses Late Rally to Beat No. 23 UConn, 64-60, and Advance to Championship Game in Battle 4 Atlantis
11/25/2021 3:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Paradise Island, Bahamas – Michigan State used a 9-0 run over the final 1:41 of the second half and beat No. 22 Connecticut, 64-60, to advance to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday afternoon at Imperial Arena.
Senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State in the semifinal matchup, while junior forward Julius Marble II (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) added 15 points and four rebounds.
Recap
Michigan State plays the winner of the other semifinal game between No. 6 Baylor and VCU on Friday, Nov. 26. The championship game will tip at 11 a.m. and air on ESPN.
Senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State in the semifinal matchup, while junior forward Julius Marble II (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) added 15 points and four rebounds.
Recap
- Michigan State led by as many as 14 points in the first half and led by 11 early in the second half, but could not hang onto the lead as UConn tied it midway through the half and led by as many as seven points in the final five minutes.
- Trailing 55-48 with 4:44 to play, Brown hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 55-51, while free throws and a jumper from Marble made it 57-55 with 2:32 to play.
- UConn, however, pushed the lead back to 60-55 after a dunk from Tyrese Martin and a free throw from Andre Jackson with 1:41 left.
- Marble hit a pair of free throws with 1:41 left to make it 60-57 and then, after forcing a turnover, the junior forward was fouled while hitting a driving layup. He missed the free throw as MSU trailed 60-59 with 1:07 left.
- Michigan State made a pair of defensive stops and sophomore guard A.J. Hoggard (Coatesville, Pa./Huntington Prep {W.Va.]) and junior forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) each hit free throws in the final 30 seconds to push the MSU lead to 63-60.
- Junior guard Tyson Walker (Westbury, N.Y./Christ the King/Northeastern) iced the game with one free throw with two seconds left.
- MSU had led by eight points at the break, 32-24, and pushed the lead back to 11 points, 39-28, on a 3-pointer from Walker just under two minutes into the second half.
- UConn responded with a 14-3 run over 2:35 and tied the game at 41-all on a dunk from Tyrese Martin with 15:16 to play.
- Michigan State went into the half with a 32-24 lead despite shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor (14-of-36), but hit 4-of-7 from 3-point land (57.1%).
- The Spartans jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after a pair of baskets from Brown and one from senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) and extended the lead to 21-10 with 9:10 left on a jumper from freshman guard Pierre Brooks (Detroit, Mich./Frederick Douglass Academy).
- The Huskies cut the lead to 24-18 on a basket from Adama Sanogo, but the Spartans responded with an 8-0 burst and took a 32-18 lead on 3-pointers from Hauser and Brown, forcing UConn to call a timeout.
- UConn scored the final six points of the first half, cutting the margin to 32-24.
- Michigan State hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:41 and 9-of-10 in the last five minutes.
- The Spartans outscored UConn 31-7 in bench points.
- The Spartans had a 48-42 advantage in rebounding.
- MSU shot just 35.9 percent from the floor (23-of-64), but hit 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from 3-point land.
- After turning the ball over 20 times against Loyola Chicago on Wednesday, MSU turned it over only 12 times, but committed eight in the second half.
- Michigan State leads the all-time series with UConn, 5-3, and has won the last two meetings.
- The Spartans are now 4-1 all-time in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
- Gabe Brown scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds for his second career double-double and his first of the season.
- It was his sixth game in double figures this season and the 23rd of his career.
- Julius Marble scored a career-high 15 points, his second game in double figures this year and the fourth of his career.
Michigan State plays the winner of the other semifinal game between No. 6 Baylor and VCU on Friday, Nov. 26. The championship game will tip at 11 a.m. and air on ESPN.
Team Stats
UConn
MSU
FG%
.359
.359
3FG%
.125
.462
FT%
.706
.632
RB
42
48
TO
9
12
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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