But with 5:04 to play, senior guard Drew Neitzel, who was shooting 4-of-13 from the field, launched a 3-pointer that found the bottom of the basket – putting MSU within one.

The next play, senior center Drew Naymick snatched a defensive rebound, ran down the floor, grabbed a Neitzel miss and slammed the ball through the cylinder, putting MSU up 52-51.

With 11,597 people in attendance, a stadium record, Carver Arena went silent.

The green and white secured the lead for the remainder of the game with a 21-12 run – knocking down seven-of-eight free throws down the stretch.

The Spartans dominated the glass the entire night, outrebounding Bradley 46-27.

Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan led the Spartans with 15 points, along with eight rebounds. Despite shooting 25 percent, Neitzel finished with 13 points and 5 assists.

Freshman guard Kalin Lucas added a clutch 3-pointer of his own late in the second half. He finished with 13 points.

Bradley’s senior guard Daniel Ruffin had a game-high 17 points while senior guard Jeremy Crouch added 13 points of his own.

For the last couple weeks, Izzo told his team to stop going for the “homerun play” – but to stick to singles and doubles, which will lead to effective scoring.

But in the first half, it looked like MSU forgot the game plan, forcing eight careless turnovers.

As junior forward Goran Suton caught an inbound pass with just 1.9 seconds remaining in the half, he leaned towards the basket and missed a go-ahead layup, sparking Izzo to stare Suton down in disgust as he ran to the bench.

Bradley led 28-27 at the break.

But the Spartans stayed in the game, despite a 9-2 Bradley run, due to the Braves’ poor outside shooting and MSU’s ability to clean the glass.

In the end, MSU held Bradley to 38 percent shooting, and just 8-of-24 3-pointer, an aspect of the game the Braves strive on.

MSU faces No. 20 BYU at 4 p.m. Saturday in Salt Lake City – a game that Izzo describes as “one of the toughest of the year.”