COLUMBUS, Ohio — Szymon Zapala scored a season-high 15 points and No. 18 Michigan State made 8 of 10 free throws to hold off Ohio State 69-62 on Friday night for its third straight win to start Big Ten play.

Zapala fueled a 12-0 run to build a 14-point lead for the Spartans (12-2, 3-0). However, the Buckeyes rallied as John Mobley Jr. hit a 3 and Bruce Thornton followed with a jumper with 8:47 left to go up, 50-49.

Ohio State (9-5, 1-2) then committed turnovers on three straight possessions. After Thornton’s second turnover in under a minute Xavier Booker drove the length of the floor for a three-point play. Tre Holloman drilled a 3 and Booker dunked to give Michigan State a 57-50 lead. Micah Parrish hit two 3-pointers and Mobley added a third, but the Spartans finished hitting 8 of 10 from the line.

Jaden Akins was 5 for 6 from the free-throw line, hitting 3 of 4 in the final minute, to finish with 14 points for Michigan State. Coen Carr was 7 for 8 at the line and added 11 points. Jaxon Kohler grabbed 10 rebounds.

Parrish was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points to lead Ohio State. Thornton finished with 10 points.

Takeaways

Michigan State was able to attack the rim consistently.

Ohio State shot 36.7% from the floor at home, hitting 22 of 60 from the field including 7 of 27 on 3s.

Key moment

After Ohio State used a 7-0 run to take a 50-49 lead, Booker turned a turnover by Thornton into a three-point play to put the Spartans back in front.

Key stat

Michigan State scored 56 of its 69 points either in the paint or from the free-throw line.

Up next

Michigan State hosts Washington on Thursday, and Ohio State plays at Minnesota on Monday.

Alabama transfer running back Justice Haynes has signed with Michigan, the school announced Friday.

Haynes, the No. 3 running back in ESPN’s transfer rankings, finished as Alabama’s third-leading rusher with 448 yards on 5.7 yards per carry and 7 touchdowns as a sophomore. He’ll have two more seasons of eligibility with the Wolverines.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound back from Buford, Georgia, started six games in his second year with the Crimson Tide after rushing for 168 yards and two scores as a freshman. Haynes was the No. 24 overall player in the ESPN 300 for 2023.

He’ll join a Michigan backfield that must replace the production of seniors Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards, who combined for 1,537 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2024.

Michigan does return freshman back Jordan Marshall, who rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries in the Wolverines’ 19-13 victory over Alabama in the Reliaquest Bowl on Dec. 31. Haynes did not play for either team in the bowl game.

Michigan has added eight transfer signees following its 8-5 season under first-year coach Sherrone Moore. The Wolverines are also bringing in quarterback Mikey Keene (Fresno State), wide receiver Donaven McCulley (Indiana) and offensive lineman Brady Norton (Cal Poly) to help bolster an offense that averaged 22 points per game this season, which ranks 113th in FBS.

Two central Michigan men — one of whom allegedly fled to Texas and Mexico after an armed robbery — were arrested after leading police on a car chase through multiple counties, officials said.

A detective with the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office at about 11 p.m. Monday received a tip the wanted suspect had returned to the county, authorities said. A tipster told the detective the suspect was driving a GMC Yukon and provided him with the license plate number, they said.

Investigators believed the suspect was traveling to his mother’s home in Ionia and sheriff’s deputies positioned themselves to intercept the SUV, police said. They spotted the vehicle on East Lincoln Avenue and tried to pull the Yukon over. However, the suspect driver fled through the city of Ionia and onto a highway to Montcalm County.

Additional law enforcement officers joined the chase on various back roads, they said. The Yukon then traveled toward Greenville where the city’s police department took over the pursuit, officials said.

They followed the suspect vehicle into Kent County where local sheriff’s deputies deployed devices near Northland Drive to puncture the Yukon’s tires. The devices were effective, the vehicle stopped and several people exited the Yukon and ran away, police said.

Authorities searched the area on foot and used a drone to find and arrest everyone who was in the Yukon, they said.

During questioning, the SUV’s driver admitted he knew one of his passengers was wanted for armed robbery, police said. He also told investigators he was a parolee himself and was afraid of being arrested for associating with a crime suspect, they said.

Officials said three other passengers in the Yukon, a 19-year-old woman, a 17-year-old male, and a 22-year-old man, are not being charged. The three are Ionia residents. Police also said all the people who were in the Yukon are related to each other.

Police said the SUV’s driver, Diego Luis Bowerman, 21, of Ionia, was charged with fleeing and eluding police and parole violation. He was arraigned Tuesday in 64-A District Court in Ionia on a charge of third-degree fleeing and eluding police, according to court records.

A judge set his bond at $30,000 and scheduled his next court hearing for Jan. 13, 2025. Officials said he is currently being held at the Ionia County Jail.

Police said the passenger wanted on an armed robbery warrant from Kent County, Enrique Vazquez, 22, also of Ionia, has yet to be formally charged. He was taken to the Kent County Jail.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez