“He looked locked in, didn’t he? And that’s what I told him,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said of Morgan. “His body language speaks volumes, and he looked locked in. He was locked in.

“Whenever I talk to people I still feel Raymar Morgan could have a future in basketball because he can do a lot of things and he’s very smart. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached.”

Still, Izzo said he wishes Morgan were more selfish on the court. Injuries have hampered Morgan’s MSU tenure, but the 6-foot-8 forward is now healthy and Izzo said the team will rely on him and Lucas as Big Ten play nears.

“He’s right,” Morgan said of Izzo’s statement. “I just got to do a lot more on the court, I think. If I do that, get my teammates more involved, I think we’ll be a lot better team.”

When Morgan fouled out, both teams alternated baskets for several minutes to keep the deficit at 10 points, but the Spartans put together a 12-2 run beginning with 11 minutes left and ending with just over six minutes remaining to give MSU a 70-50 lead. The Spartans (9-2) didn’t register a field goal from 9:06 left in the second half until there were 47 seconds remaining, but drained 11 free throws during that stretch.

IPFW head coach Dane Fife said the Spartans wore his team down, noting MSU’s players are larger and more physical than the Mastodons (3-6).

“They’re all built like NFL linebackers,” Fife said. “I think their physicality and how tough they play really, really causes people problems.”

Izzo said the stat sheet tells a different story than the game, adding the Spartans were out-rebounded 22-18 in the first half and passed up on too many shots despite shooting 49 percent from the field.

Although the Spartans jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the first half, displaying a first gear the team appeared to lack in its first 10 games this season, the game took a different turn as halftime approached. IPFW channeled the efforts of Wofford and The Citadel, opponents that gave the Spartans a difficult time earlier this season. Following a layup from sophomore guard Korie Lucious to make it 37-24 MSU with 2:41 left in the half, the Mastodons closed on an 11-5 run to bring MSU’s halftime lead to 42-35.

“We got the lead and we slowed down and relaxed and they started hitting threes and chipping away,” said sophomore forward Draymond Green, who had six points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. “I don’t think we ever really got settled back in, we just kept letting them chip away. But we came out in the second half and built it back up and kept building on it.”

MSU worked the ball down low early, getting buckets from freshman center Garrick Sherman and sophomore forward Delvon Roe, who combined for 14 first half points. Roe finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Sherman added eight points and two rebounds.

MSU stopped IPFW from generating opportunities near the basket, as IPFW’s first points from the paint came with a little more than five minutes left in the first half, when Frank Gaines slammed a rebound home.

The Mastodons instead relied on three-pointers, going 6-for-17 in the first half but 1-for-10 in the second. Izzo said his halftime speech was “HBOish,” and Green said it had an impact on the team.

“He got into a few players,” Green said. “When you’re getting into a few players, the whole team feels it.”

The loudest ovation of the game came with 1:25 left in the game when freshman Derrick Nix sank a free throw to make it 77-56. Nix entered the game 2-for-23 from the line and went 1-for-4 in the win.

IPFW forward Deilvez Yearby led all scorers with a career-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

MSU will next play Texas at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Austin, Texas.