MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo earned his 500th career victory at MSU on Thanksgiving night as his No. 3 MSU basketball team (5-0) defeated the Boston College Eagles (3-1), 99-68, in the first round of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
Senior guard Denzel Valentine led the Spartans with his second triple-double of the year, finishing Thursday’s contest with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. MSU sophomore guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. added 13 points and eight assists while freshman forward Deyonta Davis chipped in with 10 points and three rebounds.
Boston College senior guard Eli Carter led the Eagles in scoring with 22 points on 9-20 shooting.
MSU jumped out to 13-point lead lead at the half, 46-33. Valentine was on triple-double watch early Thursday night, as he led the Spartans with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists at the half. Nairn scored all 13 of his points in the first 20 minutes of action.
Carter led the Eagles in scoring at the half with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
In the second half, MSU continued to pour it on. With 17:40 to go in the game, the Eagles had managed to cut the Spartan lead to 48-38.
However, from there, MSU went on a 23-6 run to take a 71-44 lead with 12:37 to go in the game. Valentine absolutely took over during the stretch, scoring 14 of his game-high 29 points during the stretch.
The Spartans never looked back, as they went on to win the game, 99-68.
MSU finished the game shooting 62.7 percent from the field, which included an 11-for-21 performance from behind the 3-point arc. The Spartans also finished the game with 28 assists on on 37 made field goals.
The Spartans will now take on the Boise State Broncos (3-2) in the second round of the Wooden Legacy tournament on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Broncos defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters in the first round, 71-64.
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