Auburn Hills - After not starting in MSU's last game against George Mason, junior center Paul Davis had something to prove.
And he did.
Davis had a season-high 20 points to lead the No. 20 MSU men's basketball team to a 78-53 thrashing of Stanford (2-4) on Saturday in the Citgo Spartan Clash at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
"Paul played very well. He wanted the ball," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "It was a good game against a team that, to be honest with you, isn't the same team right now."
MSU (5-2) got off to a slow start, allowing the Cardinal to jump out to a 13-6 lead in the first 10 minutes, but things turned around following a timeout, which culminated in a 14-13 lead and a Stanford timeout.
A 10-foot jumper by Davis started the momentum shift before sophomore guard Shannon Brown brought the near-sellout crowd of 20,067 to its feet with a thunderous alley-oop dunk from senior guard Chris Hill. After a Stanford miss, Davis found Naymick for a jumper and after another Cardinal turnover, Davis sunk another 10-foot shot to give MSU the lead. The Spartans never looked back for the rest of the game.
MSU continued its momentum in the second half, forcing the Cardinal into an over-and-back turnover to start the half.
The Spartans took over the game, as they wore down Stanford and demoralized them. Brown had another eye-boggling dunk more than five minutes into the half, putting MSU ahead 42-29, when he posterized Stanford forward Matt Haryasz with a monster jam.
After that, it was all MSU, expanding its lead to 21 on a 13-foot jumper by Davis and eventually led to a 27-point advantage in the final minute on freshman guard Drew Neitzel's 3-pointer.
"In the second half, their depth broke us down," Stanford head coach Trent Johnson said. "Their athletic ability allowed them to make plays."
Haryasz led the Cardinal in scoring with 12, the only Stanford player to score in double digits.
After only shooting 35.7 percent in the first half, MSU came out roaring in the second, hitting 65.2 percent of its shots. Overall, the Spartans shot 50 percent.
"We were just taking better shots and trying to get everybody involved," Brown said. "In the first half, we took some bad shots and tried to go one-on-one a little bit and in the second half we swung the ball around and got good looks."
Four Spartans scored in double figures, including Davis (20), Brown (10), Maurice Ager (12) and Alan Anderson (11).
Brown was impressed with Davis' play.
"Paul was focused, he knew what he had to do and he came out and did it," Brown said.
MSU senior guard Chris Hill was largely ineffective scoring wise in 25 injury-plagued minutes, scoring only seven points. But he did have eight assists and only two turnovers.
"He's got a blister on his foot," Izzo said. "(I've) never seen anything like it.
"I think you got to give Chris credit for even playing when you take a look at his foot. "
Hill did not allow his injury to stand as an excuse.
"I have to take advantage of the (shots) I get," he said. "I had four or five good looks and missed. It's not something I'm too worried about, just because I know I'll make those shots."
As for the blister, Hill said, he "could feel it."
MSU heads back to the court at 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at Breslin Center against Delaware State.
