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MSU basketball dominates inside game in victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff

November 20, 2015

The Spartans were back in East Lansing after a trip to Chicago for the Champions Classic, and experienced no hangover from the win over Kansas, defeating the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions 92-46. The Spartans started the game with three straight three point attempts from Bryn Forbes, two that he made, and one he was fouled on.

In fact, MSU opened the game snapping the net on five of their first eight tries from behind the arc, but cooled down considerably in the second half, and they finished 9-26, or 35 percent from three point range.

The one constant, however, was the all-around presence MSU had on the interior. Senior Matt Costello finished the game with a double-double: 10 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Javon Bess had a career-high 16 points. With good passing, the 2-3 zone defense played by the Golden Lions was exploited by MSU.

“They were just pressuring pretty high, all the way around,” Costello said. “We had good ball movement so we were able to break it apart a little bit, pick our spots so we got layups.”

A big lift for MSU’s interior came at the 15:17 mark of the second half, when sophomore Marvin Clark Jr., who hadn’t seen any action yet this season due to a foot injury, checked into the game. He finished with two points and two offensive rebounds in just five minutes.

“We got Marv a few minutes, he’s got to get his feet wet,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “He probably could have played a few more, but we had to get him ready and hopefully by next week he’ll be playing more and more. That four spot, we need a lot. The four spot is very important in our offense.”

The starter at that important four spot is Bess, who had an efficient game, shooting 6-7 from the field and going to the free throw line on five different occasions, including three times where he was fouled after converting a layup.

“I felt good,” Bess said. “Just tried to be more aggressive in that zone. Getting to the open spots and just trying to be aggressive when I got the ball.”

Bess missed most of last year due to injury, but in the games he did play in, he did not see any action at the four. He was primarily a perimeter player, but after getting a plethora of time at the power forward, he is becoming a threat for MSU in the post.

“I’m getting more comfortable everyday,” Bess said. “Practicing it, it’s feeling more comfortable to me now, it’s almost second nature now. I know where I need to be in spots and different things like that.”

The Spartans wound up shooting 58 percent from the floor, large in part to the 46 points the Spartans scored in the paint, compared to just 12 for UAPB. MSU out-rebounded UAPB 45-14 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, which the post players converted into 13 second chance points.

Bess wasn’t the only efficient big man for MSU, as Costello went 4-5 from the field, Deyonta Davis was 3-5, and senior Colby Wollenman was perfect on his two field goal attempts. But Bess’s strong performance certainly gave the rest of the interior confidence, and garnered praise from his captain.

“He did great, I was proud of him,” Costello said. “He missed a couple balls at the end there from Zel (Valentine) and I but overall he did a great job. He’s an undersized four but he does very well with what he has.”

The Spartans have one more game at home on Monday night against Eastern Michigan before heading out to California to compete in the Wooden Legacy, a field that includes No. 10 Arizona among others. As for Friday’s game, Izzo was impressed...for the most part.

“As enjoyable the first half was, the second half, especially the first ten minutes, were not enjoyable,” Izzo said. “Still got a lot of work to do, but everyone's telling me around the conference, around the country that teams are getting beat, so I guess I should just shut my mouth, take a win, and move on.”

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