MSU (12-6 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) went 0-for-10 during the final stretch, and although they were able to hang with the Fighting Illini for most of the game, the best shooting team in the Big Ten proved to be too much.

“We missed some opportunities late,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “A couple threes and a couple tip-ins that could’ve fallen and we put ourselves in position. We had our chance, we just couldn’t put ourselves over the hump.”

Led by 15 points and 11 assists from guard Demetri McCamey and 20 points from guard Brandon Paul, Illinois (14-5, 4-2) pulled away with a 71-62 victory in front of its home crowd.
“We really needed this win, but we didn’t get it,” Izzo said.

The game began with each team showing off its transition game. McCamey raced his team down the floor and scored five points in the first three minutes of the game.

However, senior guard Kalin Lucas responded to each basket, scoring six of his eight first-half points in the opening minutes.

His sixth point put the Spartans up 8-7 with 17:15 remaining in the first half.

Each time the Spartans attempted to start a run, the Fighting Illini would respond. With MSU holding a slim 23-20 lead, Jereme Richmond sparked an 8-0 Illinois run with back-to-back dunks.
The run was capped off with a 3-pointer by Paul and after nine first-half lead changes, the game saw its last switch with 8:58 left in the first.

The Spartans battled back each time the game started to slip from their grasps. After Paul had hit six consecutive points for Illinois, senior guard Durrell Summers — who started the game on the bench — countered with four of his own.

The half concluded and although Illinois was connecting on 67 percent of its 3-pointers, MSU only found itself behind four points, 41-37.

The second half opened up with the Fighting Illini scoring five points and pushing the lead to nine.
Again the Spartans roared back. Summers connected from behind the arc and junior forward Delvon Roe provided two free throws to bring the score to 46-42 with 16:04 left in the game.

Then, led by Paul, the Fighting Illini answered with another 7-1 run that gave them their biggest lead of the game, 53-43.

“They went on a hot streak,” Summers said. “I think we contested some of their shots pretty well. Paul pretty much sparked them. He hit a bunch of shots and that pretty much kept them rolling from there.”

Although the Spartans had the edge in rebounds, 35-29, they shot only 38 percent from the field, and the Fighting Illini continued to sizzle, shooting 53 percent.

Among the struggling Spartans, junior guard Korie Lucious finished the game just 1-for-8.
“He’s struggling and so are a few of us other guys as well,” Green said.

Lucas — who led MSU with 15 points — said he was disappointed in the road loss, but wants to move on before the team’s next game at Purdue on Saturday.

“It’s a must-win, we got to find a way to pull it out,” Lucas said.