Leading by one at halftime, the No. 10 MSU men’s basketball team (10-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) opened the second half with an 8-1 run against No. 21 Minnesota (12-1, 0-1) en route to a 70-58 win in its Big Ten regular season opener at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
Four Spartans, led by sophomore guard Kalin Lucas with 24 points, scored in double-figures as MSU handed the Golden Gophers their first loss of the season.
Senior center Goran Suton, who missed six games earlier this season with a knee injury, looked fully healed, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Junior forward Raymar Morgan (10 points, 10 rebounds) also recorded a
double-double.
MSU outrebounded Minnesota 41-22.
MSU’s largest lead in the first half came when a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Chris Allen, who scored 13, put the Spartans up 10-2 with about 12 minutes remaining in the half. Minnesota hung in with a trio of 3-pointers late in the first half to make the score 30-29 heading into break.
Senior center Idong Ibok and Morgan each made a pair of free throws to open the second half scoring for MSU, while Morgan and senior guard Travis Walton followed with a bucket each to put MSU up eight, forcing Minnesota to take a timeout.
The Gophers cut the score to 38-34, but a 3-pointer by Suton and five straight points by Lucas put MSU up 10 with 12 minutes remaining. The Spartans continued to pull away, going up by as many as 19 points with about two minutes left.
Freshman forward Delvon Roe, who injured his left ankle in Saturday’s 82-66 win over Oakland at The Palace of Auburn Hills, played just one minute, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds.
MSU continues Big Ten against Northwestern (8-3, 0-1) at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3 in Evanston, Ill.
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