After the Cougars pulled it back to within four with just more than six minutes to go, sophomore forward Raymar Morgan led the Spartans on a 19-4 run to take a 45-26 halftime lead.

Head coach Tom Izzo said Morgan, who led the Spartans with 25 points and 15 rebounds, played with more intensity than he’s ever seen.

“I thought he played with a purpose tonight,” Izzo said. “The look in his eye, the body language that I sometimes criticize was there.”

The Spartans continued the scoring spree in the second half, as senior guard Drew Neitzel and freshman guard Chris Allen each hit three-pointers in the opening minutes. A dunk by junior center Goran Suton put the Spartans up 20.

The Spartans continued to pour it on as they dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Cougars 31-16 in the second half alone.

Neitzel rebounded from two subpar exhibition performances to score 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point land, and dished out eight assists. Allen added 13, while Summers added 12 points and also collected six rebounds.

Lucas, who started at point guard in place of junior guard Travis Walton, had six points and six assists.

“It seems like every great team we’ve had we had a key sixth man or sixth starter,” Izzo said of the switch.

“Kalin deserves some things too, he has a knack to run a team, but this team is still Travis Walton’s team. But if you want to learn something about a guy, he not only took it, he came to me with it.

“It looks like I got another great sixth man who put the team before the individual and in the past when that’s happened, we’ve been a better team because of it.”

With the win, the Spartans advance to face University of Louisiana at Monroe, who defeated Northern Michigan 60-53 in the first game of the CBE Classic.

The Spartans and Warhawks tip off at 7 p.m. today at Breslin Center.