Former MSU basketball player Morris Peterson unravels his banner that will retire his number, 42, before bring raised up to ceiling of Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon. Peterson was part of the 2000 NCAA Championship team and was drafted to the NBA.
Born and raised in Flint, MSU forward Marquise Gray said he used to idolize former Spartans great Morris Peterson. On Saturday, he paid his great friend and fellow Flintstone the ultimate token of respect.
Gray finished with 11 points and six rebounds — one of the best games of his turbulent career — to keep the rain from falling on Peterson’s ceremonial day, during which he became the ninth player in MSU history to have his jersey number cemented in Spartans history.
The senior also helped rescue the Spartans (15-2 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) from a rocky start and lead them to a 63-57 win over Illinois at Breslin Center.
“Today when I talked to Morris, he told me to just relax and play,” Gray said. “That’s what I tried to do.”
The moment he was summoned from the bench, Gray became MSU’s best player on the floor. He scored five straight points and hauled in several rebounds to give MSU an early 8-2 advantage.
When MSU went on another scoring drought later in the half, MSU head coach Tom Izzo thrust Gray back into action, and once again the senior didn’t disappoint. He continued to work the glass, play tenacious defense, and electrify the crowd with thunderous dunks.
“Maybe the bright spot of the day, in order, were Morris Peterson, our fans, and Marquise Gray,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “Gray did an unbelievable job compared to how he has been playing.”
With the win, MSU improved to 5-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1977-78 season, when it started 7-0 to open conference play.
The Spartans also created distance from Illinois (15-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten), who entered play a game behind MSU in the standings.
Forward Goran Suton scored a team-high 12 points and guard Kalin Lucas added 10 for the Spartans, who shot a disappointing 40 percent from the field. The Spartans, though, manhandled Illinois 42-30 on the glass.
Detroit native Alex Legion scored a game-high 15 points for Illinois, who got just 25 total points from its five starters. Reserve guard Calvin Brock added 12 for the Illini, while forward Mike Davis was the only starter in double figures (10 points).
“I think Tom (Izzo) has a good group,” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “I’m sure he probably didn’t feel (his team) played exceptionally well, and I hope we had something to do with it.”
Gray’s thunderous dunk with 9:10 left in the first half gave the Spartans a 20-14 edge and made it seem like MSU’s 10-game winning streak and perfect conference record were safe. But suddenly, MSU began to unravel like a loose roll of toilet paper.
The Spartans committed nine turnovers — most of them unforced — shot poorly from the field, and played Charmin soft defense, as Illinois went on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to build a 27-22 lead.
“They make you play ugly, they make you turn the ball over, and they make you come out of your comfort zone,” said MSU guard Travis Walton, who scored seven points. “A lot (of the turnovers) had to do with them, but I don’t think we were as strong and aggressive with the ball as we should have been.”
Just how bad were the Spartans to close the half? During one stint, they committed turnovers on four straight possessions. Over the last nine minutes, they actually finished with more turnovers (nine) than field goal attempts (eight).
Illinois, which shot 48.1 percent for the half, took advantage of MSU’s slumping offense, and led 34-27 at the break.
“It was a bad first half, but one thing we had to do was stick together as a team, and we did that great,” Lucas said. “In the second half, we just came out and played with a lot of passion.”
After going scoreless in the first, Lucas got the second half started with a driving layup to reinvigorate a crowd that was growing restless. But Illinois immediately countered with a 4-0 run — going up by a game-high nine in the process — that had MSU fans chomping on their nails again.
However, the Spartans continued to avoid every knockout punch the Illini’ threw at them. They emerged from deficits of six points or greater on a pair of occasions, and finally got over the hump when Morgan (eight points) hit a pair of free-throws to give the Spartans the lead with 4:49 left in the game.
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With the crowd going bonkers on every possession, the Spartans made sure to hold down the fort.
Lucas sunk a pair of free-throws, and Walton made arguably the play of the game on Illinois’ ensuing possession, when he swiped the ball from Illinois guard DeMetri McCamey and delivered a perfect outlet pass to Morgan, who absorbed contact and nestled home an acrobatic layup that gave MSU a 59-54 edge.
MSU held on to extend its winning streak at Breslin Center to 28 games, which is tied for third longest in the nation.
“Our crowd picked us up,” Walton said. “We weren’t playing too well, (but) every single play the crowd picked us up on it, and I think it carried over the last six minutes of the game.”
After the game, Izzo talked about the emotional lift Peterson gave the Spartans, as well as the impact the former All-American made on his career.
“Morris Peterson had a big impact on my life, and that’s why he still calls my wife every Mother’s Day and he comes back every Christmas and every summer,” he said. “Morris Peterson is probably why I coach and that’s why it was an emotional day for me.”
“But it was also a day when we had to win a game and we found a way to do that under some bizarre circumstances.”
Gray said having Peterson in the crowd gave him a little extra motivation.
“Tonight was a big night for the program, the team and it was a big night for me too,” said Gray, becoming more emotional with every word. “Not only is his jersey up there, but Mateen (Cleaves’) jersey is up there too.
“Those are two guys that I’m very close with, that I love like brothers, and guys that I look to for guidance and advice.”
