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Morgan shows potential in early victory

November 18, 2009

Senior forward Raymar Morgan fights for a rebound under the net during the second half against Gonzaga. The Spartans would go on to win in a close 75-71 Tuesday night at Breslin Center.

Junior guard Durrell Summers hit the go-ahead 3-pointer to become the hero.

In the waning minutes of the game, junior guard Kalin Lucas stepped up and made an acrobatic layup to extend the lead.

But throughout the MSU men’s basketball team’s 75-71 win Tuesday night against Gonzaga, senior forward Raymar Morgan was the team’s heart, hustle and soul.

After a severely sprained left ankle limited his playing time in the preseason and season opener, Morgan ignored the pain in both ankles — spraining his right ankle late in the first half — to score 16 points and grab five rebounds in MSU’s come-from-behind win.

“If you know what he’s been through in the past few weeks, then to go down like he did and come up as big as he did — was maybe one of the most heroic performances I’ve seen,” head coach Tom Izzo said.

Late in the first half, Morgan and Gonzaga’s Steven Gray collided at the top of the 3-point line in front of the MSU bench. Morgan dropped to the floor screaming and grabbing his right ankle.

Morgan went to the trainer’s room, but returned before halftime.

“I told our trainer I just had to keep playing,” Morgan said. “He stuck with me and he taped my ankle up and I went back out there.”

The passion shown by Morgan — who said he’d have to undergo “a lot” of treatment to be ready for Friday’s game against Toledo — impressed Izzo.

“The way that kid played injured, he deserves a lot of credit from everybody, including me,” Izzo said.

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With game highs in both points (21) and rebounds (11), Summers recorded his first career double-double.

And while Izzo is happy to see Summers crashing the boards with more regularity, Izzo felt he’d be remiss by not pointing out that only one of Summers’ 11 rebounds came on the offensive end.

“He hasn’t even started to reach his potential because he only got one offensive board and the guy should be dunking everything that’s missed,” Izzo said. “If I were grading him, I swear to ya, I told him, so I don’t mind telling you, I wouldn’t grade him as high. That’s the good news though, because I think he’s got incredible skills and talent.”

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