After a slow start, the No. 14 MSU men’s basketball team took off in its exhibition opener, rolling over Northwood (Fla.) 85-57 Tuesday night at Breslin Center.
In his return to game action following a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in last year’s regular season finale, sophomore guard Branden Dawson was explosive early and often, scoring the team’s first six points, including a two-handed jam off the opening tip, and a pair of vicious one-handed dunks later in the game.
The Spartans’ starters built a small early lead that evaporated quickly once the reserves entered the game and Northwood went on a 10-2 run to move ahead 16-12.
A no-look pass from freshman guard Denzel Valentine to sophomore forward Alex Gauna gave the bench its first bucket, and began a 18-3 run, ignited by the Spartans’ starting five, to give MSU its first double digit lead, a lead that wouldn’t be surrendered.
A small Northwood rally cut the Spartans lead to six, 34-28, at the end of the first half.
MSU turned on the jets coming out of the locker room, opening with a 14-3 run to put the game out of reach and never looked back, leading by as many as 28 points.
Dawson led five Spartans that scored in double figures with 16 points, along with seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Gary Harris added 14 points, senior center Derrick Nix contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Travis Trice chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench.
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