After a promising start to the season, Northwestern (8-4, 0-2) has now lost both its conference games. The Wildcats also extended their losing streak against MSU to 12 games.

MSU negated its 13 turnovers by shooting 46.8 percent from the field, including 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) from 3-point range while limiting Northwestern to 40 percent shooting from the field. Bill Carmody’s squad also struggled from 3-point land, finishing 9-for-29.

Sophomore guard Chris Allen contributed 17 points off the bench to officially jettison his scoring slump, while senior center Goran Suton continued to knock the rust off his surgically-repaired knees with six points and five rebounds.

Forward Kevin Coble led three Wildcats in double figures with 17 points, while Craig Moore — who averaged 24.5 points in two games against MSU last season — racked up 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting.

Despite Northwestern’s edge at halftime, the Spartans were the team that controlled the scoreboard and tempo early.

Morgan opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers and Suton operated inside for all of his points early in the period, as the Spartans led 18-15 midway through the half.

MSU extended its lead to seven after a timeout, but forward Kevin Coble used an array of crafty moves to lead Northwestern’s comeback effort. Coble matched Morgan with 12 first half points, as the Wildcats nursed a 33-32 lead at intermission.

Unlike the first half when the Spartans created most of their offense from the perimeter, MSU exploited its considerable height-advantage in the second half.

The Spartans combined high-percentage looks inside with suffocating play on defense to ignite an 11-0 surge to begin the second half.

But after a quiet first half, Moore went on a furious scoring surge to bring Northwestern back within single digits.

Moore scored nine points over a three minute stretch, but his efforts weren’t enough to usher the Wildcats back into the game because they consistently failed to make big stops on defense.

Northwestern’s defense allowed MSU’s guards to knife into the paint seemingly at will, as the Spartans extended their lead to as many as 15 points late in the contest.

Lucas, especially, took advantage of Northwestern’s fatigued defense by dashing inside for several easy buckets. Lucas also was a pest on the perimeter, nailing a pair of triples.

When Lucas wasn’t scoring himself, he was setting up teammates with sensational passes. The super sophomore finished with nine dimes, including a scintillating alley-oop pass to Morgan.

MSU will return to Breslin Center for its Big Ten home opener Tuesday against No. 24 Ohio State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.