Sophomore center Derrick Nix prepares to shoot late in the second half in the game against UNO Monday evening at Breslin Center. Nix put up 10 points against UNO.
After the No. 2 MSU men’s basketball team won its final tune-up game against Nebraska-Omaha, 102-72, Monday at Breslin Center, head coach Tom Izzo said he saw a lot of things he liked.
But four days before the real season begins against Eastern Michigan on Friday at Breslin Center, Izzo said his team also has plenty to work on in the next couple days.
“I thought this team played pretty well,” Izzo said. “But we had some incredibly good things and things we didn’t do a very good job of.”
Izzo said he placed an emphasis on pushing the ball on offense and getting back in transiton defensively before Monday’s game.
The Spartans finished the game with only eight fast-break points, while giving up 10 to the Mavericks.
“We went into this game trying to emphasize our break, and I thought that was poor,” Izzo said. “We tried to emphasize our transition defense and I thought that was pretty poor.”
The game started out sloppy for both teams, as MSU and Nebraska-Omaha each had three turnovers going into the first TV timeout less than five minutes into the game.
And after the Spartans took a 14-8 lead on a lay-up by senior guard Kalin Lucas, the Mavericks went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-14 lead with 11:11 left in the first half.
“We made some mistakes that are not characteristic of us,” junior forward Draymond Green said. “But you have to give them some credit too, they played hard.”
However, MSU quickly responded with an 11-0 run of its own. Green and senior guard Durrell Summers accounted for all 11 points on the run, which gave the Spartans a 25-15 lead a little more than 11 minutes into the game.
Nebraska-Omaha was able to fight back to within five points less than three minutes later, but that would be the closest they would get the rest of the game.
MSU promptly went on 21-5 run to close out the half, which was capped by a Lucas three-pointer right at the buzzer. Lucas scored eight of his 12 first-half points in the final minute of the half, as the Spartans took a 47-26 lead into the break.
“I thought Kalin Lucas was great,” Izzo said. “He played maybe as well as I’ve seen him play.”
Sophomore center Derrick Nix and freshman guard Keith Appling — high school teammates at Detroit Pershing — provided the Spartans with a spark in the early stages of the second half.
Scoring seven of MSU’s first 10 second-half points, Nix made all three of his free-throw attempts and completed a three-point play.
Not to be outdone, Appling scored nine of the Spartans’ next 13 points, as MSU built 73-42 lead midway through the second half.
The Spartans were led the rest of the way by Lucas’ 13 second-half points. And despite a slow start, MSU’s 102 points were 14 more than what it scored last Tuesday.
Lucas, who came out of the game with more than five minutes left, led the Spartans with 25 points. The senior guard continued the hot shooting he had against Saginaw Valley State by going 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line and 8-for-14 from the field Monday night.
And while he said he doesn’t expect to be back to the form of previous seasons for about another month, he added that his jump shot feels better than ever.
“My teammates were looking for me,” Lucas said. “My shot felt good. One thing me and Durrell have been doing is getting up a lot of shots before practice, after practice and before the game.”
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Four other MSU players scored in double digits, led by Green with 16 and Appling with 15.
Freshman center Adreian Payne brought in 13 rebounds to go along with his seven points. As a team, the Spartans out-rebounded the Mavericks 52-32, including 20 offensive rebounds that lead to 28 second-chance points.
And although Payne struggled at times when forced to defend smaller players, Izzo was pleased with his six offensive rebounds.
“That’s what I was mainly working on,” Payne said of attacking the boards. “I’m just playing hard and going as hard as I can.”
Two Spartans — sophomore center Garrick Sherman and junior guard Korie Lucious — both saw their first action Monday after missing the first game.
Lucious struggled shooting the ball, going 1-for-8 from the field, but dished out six assists. Meanwhile, Sherman scored seven points and brought in four rebounds in 14 minutes coming back from a concussion.
Suspended for the first exhibition game and regular-season opener, Lucious said it was nice to get some game experience before sitting out again Friday.
“I felt pretty good,” Lucious said. “It was fun to get back on the court with these guys.
After outscoring their two exhibition opponents 190-116, the Spartans will open the regular season at 8:30 p.m. Friday against Eastern Michigan at Breslin Center.
And much-like Izzo, Lucas said he knows MSU has a long way to go before it is at its best.
“We’re good,” Lucas said. “But at the same time, we still have to get a lot better. We’re getting better, but we still got a lot of progress we can make.”
To read about Draymond Green’s matchup with his older brother, check out the men’s basketball blog, Hoop, There it is.
