Michigan State gets big 63-54 win at home over Maryland

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Michigan State’s men’s basketball team used a 14-2 run late in the second half to break open a close game and held on for a 63-54 win over Maryland in a Big Ten game on Saturday evening at the Breslin Center.

Graduate forward Malik Hall and guard Tyson Walker each scored 19 points to lead the Spartans. Hall scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, including 10 of the team’s 14 points during the decisive run, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Walker scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, adding three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Senior guard A.J. Hoggard added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals and junior guard Jaden Akins chipped in 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Records

Michigan State, winners of its last two games and five of the last six overall, improves to 14-8 overall and 6-5 in the Big Ten Conference, while Maryland falls to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in league play.

Recap

• The Spartans led the game for all but 13 seconds but were never able to break away from Maryland, especially in the second half.
• Trailing by one point, 42-41, after Maryland’s Jahmir Young hit a layup to cap a 7-0 run, Michigan State responded.
• Hoggard fed senior forward Mady Sissoko for an alley-oop with 7:02 left, giving MSU the lead for good at 43-42.
• That started a 14-0 run over a span of a 3:13 as MSU took a 55-44 lead on free throws from Hall with 3:49 left in the game.
• During the run, Hall hit two free throws at 6:12, followed with a 3-pointer (5:21), converted a layup and free throw (4:35) and hit two more from the charity stripe (3:49) to give the Spartans an 11-point lead.
• A jumper from Walker with 3:05 to play gave the Spartans their biggest lead, 57-44, with 3:05 left.
• Michigan State led by four points (31-27) at the break and led by no more than six points over the first 10 minutes of the second half as both teams struggled from the field.
• A 3-pointer from Akins with 9:07 left gave MSU 41-35 lead, but Young responded with a 3-pointer of his own and triggered the 7-0 run as the Terrapins took the lead for the first time with 7:15 left.
• Thirteen seconds later, Hoggard Sissoko for the alley-oop, setting up the finish.
• Michigan State went into the half with a 31-27 lead, thanks in part to Walker, who scored 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Maryland trailed by just two points, 7-5, after a jumper from Scott early in the game, but MSU used a 7-0 run over 2:19 and took a 14-5 lead on a 3-pointer from Walker at the 14:12 mark.
• Leading by just one point, 16-15, after the mid-point of the second half, layups from Hall and Walker pushed the MSU lead back to five points, 20-15, with 7:53 left.
• The Spartans led by six points twice, first on a jumper from Walker with 5:28 left (25-19) and then with 2:40 left on a layup from Akins, making it 27-21.
• Baskets from Young and Scott pulled Maryland to withing 29-27 before a jumper from Hoggard with 10 seconds left gave MSU a 4-point lead going to the lockers.

Michigan State hits the road for a mid-week game at Minnesota on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The game will air on Peacock at 9 p.m. (ET), with Noah Eagle and Stephen Bardo calling all of the action.

Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and YouTube page to receive the latest local news and weather.

Copyright 2024 WILX. All rights reserved.