Michigan State Falls at No. 2 Purdue, 80-74

West Lafayette, Ind. – Michigan State trailed by 15 points early in the second half and fought back to pull within one possession in the final nine minutes but could not get closer in an 80-74 loss to No. 2 Purdue at Mackey Arena Saturday night.

Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists to lead the Spartans, while junior guard Jaden Akins added 13 points and three rebounds.

Records

Purdue clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship and improved to 26-3 (15-3 Big Ten), while Michigan State fell to 17-12 and 9-9 in league play.

Recap

• Michigan State trailed by just three points, 38-35, at halftime, but Purdue used a 13-4 run over the opening 4:44 of the second half and opened up a 51-39 lead on a layup from Zach Edey at the 16:03 mark.

• The Boilermakers extended their lead to 54-39 on a three-point play from Edey at the 14:26 mark as the Spartans scored just four points over the opening five minutes of the second half.

• Michigan State responded with an 8-0 run over 2:02 and pulled to within 58-55 on a 3-pointer from senior guard A.J. Hoggard with 9:13 left to play.

• Following a Purdue timeout after Hoggard’s 3-pointer, the Boilermakers scored the next four points to build their lead back up to 62-55 at the 8:20 mark.

• MSU would not get the Boilermaker lead under five points the rest of the game. Hoggard’s 2-pointer at the 1:26 mark made it 74-69 in favor of Purdue, but Mason Gillis hit a 3-pointer on the Boilermakers’ next possession to make it 77-69.

• Malik Hall, who scored 12 points, hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to cut the margin to six at 78-72, however, the Boilermakers responded with a layup after a Spartan timeout to go back up 80-72 in the eventual 80-74 victory.

• The Spartans came out strong and took a 13-6 lead on a trio of free throws from Walker at the 14:37 mark.

• MSU would miss five-straight field goals as Purdue pulled to within 15-14 on a free throw from Smith but the Spartans responded with a 9-2 run over 1:22 as freshman forward Xavier Booker hit a pair of 3-pointers and Holloman added another to…