The No. 23 Spartans' arsenal of offensive weapons was too much for a young UCLA team Tuesday.
MSU (7-2) used senior guard Chris Hill's sharp-shooting and junior center Paul Davis' toughness down low to help knock off a rising UCLA team, 76-64. Hill sank three 3-pointers including two to start the second half, finishing with a season-high 15 points.
Davis added 18 points and seven rebounds posting up against two 7-foot Bruins centers.
"We have so many different weapons," Davis said. "We can have five shooters on the floor at the same time and five guys that will get up and run the court."
The Spartans used two big runs, one in each half, to pull away from the Bruins (6-2). MSU finished the first half on a 12-1 run fueled by 3-point shot by freshman guard Drew Neitzel after Davis grabbed a loose ball and passed to Hill, who found Neitzel for the open shot.
On the next play, the Bruins turned the ball over and senior forward Alan Anderson found senior guard Kelvin Torbert for another open three.
The Spartans used the momentum to begin the second half on a 13-3 run including two 3-pointers from Hill.
"That's what we wanted to do to start the second half," Hill said. "Overall, we played well as a team. When we get a 20-point lead, we've got to push that."
The run was what head coach Tom Izzo wanted to see from his team which has struggled to beat good basketball teams this season.
"We made some mistakes, but the run we had in the second half, the execution of our offense, I thought, was phenomenal," Izzo said.
MSU had help from Neitzel and junior forward Matt Trannon. Neitzel tied a career-high eight points and hit big 3-poin shots and Trannon provided a strong defensive effort, forcing several UCLA turnovers and grabbing six rebounds.
"Drew has been taking baby steps and I think that, tonight, he took a bigger step," Izzo said.
Trannon, also a wide receiver on the football team, helped guard Bruins forward Dijon Thompson, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"I just want to come in and do anything I can and help out anyway I can," Trannon said.
UCLA shot 27 3-pointers, connecting on 10 of them, but never seemed to gain a consistent scoring rhythm.
"I thought we got down and rushed some shots," head coach Ben Howland said. "Earlier in the game when the score was 20-21, we played exactly how we wanted to play, and then they got a push on us."
The Bruins started four freshmen for the first time since the 1998-99 season in front of a sold out Breslin Center crowd. Freshman guard Arron Afflalo led the 3-point fest for the Bruins with 16 points including four from beyond the arc. Forward Josh Shipp had a team-high 18 points and Jordan Farmar finished with seven.
The teams stayed even early with MSU attempting three alley-opp passes in the first five minutes including an Anderson pass that found Davis for a slam dunk.
UCLA chose to launch up 3-pointers, not scoring a field goal until 5:30 into the game on a lay-up by center Michael Fey.
But MSU would succeed with toughness highlighted by Trannon, who often kept the crowd cheering with tough rebounds. Even his football coach John L. Smith was surprised.
"He caught more balls tonight than he saw all year," Smith joked at halftime. "It's easier to catch the round one, I guess. I'm proud of the kid."
The Spartans played without the Izzone, the student section, for the second game in a row, as students are home on winter break. But even with the less rowdy crowd, MSU remains undefeated at home this season, 5-0.
The win puts the series at 4-2 in favor of the Bruins. Last year at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA beat the MSU, 64-58.
The Spartans next play UNC Asheville 7 p.m. Dec. 29 at Breslin Center.
