The MSU men's basketball team didn't dominated UNC Asheville the way it was expected to Friday night, but it still picked up the win.
The No. 9 Spartans (1-0) defeated the Bulldogs 66-52, giving MSU its 26th consecutive home opener victory, but not without allowing the opposition to make a closing minute comeback.
The Bulldogs (O-1) called a timeout after freshman center Paul Davis managed to sink a leaner after being shoved in the lane to put the Spartans on top 58-44.
Coming out of the huddle, UNC Asheville netted five-straight points to get within nine at 58-49. It was the first time the Bulldogs got within 10 points since MSU led 17-7 early in the first half.
But The Spartans turned up the defense and closed the game with a 8-2 run.
"There were plenty of good, and plenty of bads tonight for an opener," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought we ran our break and played defense as good as we have.
"I really wasn't satisfied with the play as far as not having the killer instinct to get things done. We got very lazy and too casual at times and we kind of played in spurts at times and that's not real good for a basketball team."
Following a 2-for-13 shooting performance in MSU's last exhibition game, sophomore guard Chris Hill was the Spartan star. Hill led the Spartans with 18 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, 4-for-8 beyond the three point arc. Senior forwards Al Anagonye and Adam Ballinger chipped in 11 and nine, respectively.
Guard Andre Smith led the Bulldogs with 18 points while forward Bryan McCullough chipped in 12.
"I'm disappointed because we came up here to win a ball game," UNC Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach said.
The Spartans wasted no time taking charge from the get-go, scoring the games first 11 points. In fact, the Bulldogs didn't get score until five minutes into the game.
"That's what we're trying to get to," Anagonye said of the domination out of the gate. "That's the elite status we have to have."
UNC Asheville used the score to go on a 5-2 run, but an Anagonye uncontested dunk forced the Bulldogs to use a timeout.
The Spartans and Bulldogs exchanged points for nearly seven minutes until MSU grabbed netted five straight to take a 17-point lead at 30-17.
Sophomore forward Alan Anderson got on outlet pass and slammed it home as the last score of the half, giving MSU a 38-24 lead heading into the locker room.
MSU scored the first six points out of the gate to take 20-point lead, its biggest of the night. But the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the contest, keeping the Spartan lead around 12 for the rest of the game.
"This is kind of a growing pain for us," Anagonye said. "I give credit to the other team. They hit some incredible shots at the buzzer and we had them down and they hit some tough shots at the buzzer.
"At times we showed what we had but at other times we just slowed up. We just have to get that killer instinct back."
