NEW YORK – Michigan State’s men’s basketball team had an eight-point lead early in the second half and led by five near the midpoint, but could not hang on as Rutgers held on for a 61-55 win over the Spartans at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Tyson Walker scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists to lead the Spartans and graduate forward Joey Hauser added 10 points and five rebounds.
Records
Michigan State falls to 14-9 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten Conference, while Rutgers improves to 16-7 and 8-4 in the league.
Recap
- Michigan State used a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Jaden Akins and free throws from junior guard A.J. Hoggard to break a 33-all tie and take a 38-33 lead with 11:03 to play.
- The Spartans still led by three points, 40-37, after a jumper from Hauser with 9:21 left, but that would be the last lead as Rutgers used a 9-0 run to take a 46-40 lead on a free throw from Caleb McConnell with 4:55 on the clock.
- Free throws from Malik Hall and a dunk from Mady Sissoko got MSU to within two points, 46-44, but Paul Mulcahy hit 1-of-2 free throws and a pair of driving layups, including one with 2:12 to play, pushing the lead to seven points, 51-44.
- The Scarlet Knights hit 10-fo-11 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
- MSU had gone into the break with a 25-19 lead and pushed the lead to eight points, first at 29-21 on a Hoggard layup (18:10) and then on a layup from Walker (16:49), making it 31-23.
- The first half was sluggish as both teams struggled from the field, with MSU shooting 37.9 percent and Rutgers just 24.1 percent), and a combined 13 turnovers.
- Tied at 19-all with 2:32 left, the Spartans scored the final six points of the first half to take a 25-19 lead on a fast break layup from Akins as time expired.
Key Stats
- Michigan State shot just 34.5 percent from the floor (20-of-58), including 19.0 percent from 3-point distance (4-of-21).
- After holding Rutgers to 19 points in the first half on 24.1 percent shooting (7-of-29),…
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