It was fitting that senior guard Travis Trice, after making the free throw to seal the victory, soared in the air to bring down the game-clinching rebound.
No. 18 MSU (1-0 overall) defeated Navy (0-1 overall), 64-59 as part of the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md. on Friday night.
Trice saved what could have been a disheartening season opening loss for the men’s basketball team with his stellar play in the second half.
Trice led the Spartans with a career-high 25 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He also had five assists and five rebounds.
The game moved at a frantic pace from the start as both teams made four of their first six shot attempts.
Navy was able to stay in the game in the first half because of MSU’s inability to hold onto the ball. The Spartans had 10 turnovers in the opening twenty minutes compared to the Midshipmens' six.
MSU finished with 15 turnovers and forced Navy into 10.
The Spartans depth was tested early after sophomore guard Alvin Ellis III went down with a sprained ankle in the first half, when a Navy player collided with him attempting to steal the ball.
Ellis III did not return.
Junior transfer guard Bryn Forbes and freshman guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. took the bulk of Ellis III’s minutes in the first half.
Forbes finished with five points on 1-of-8 shooting while Nairn Jr. finished with four assists and three rebounds.
Navy also lost one of its key contributors early on, as senior forward Worth Smith exited late in the first half with a dislocated left kneecap. Smith, the Midshipmen’s second leading scorer last year, had seven points before the injury.
Senior forward Branden Dawson led the Spartans in the first half in both scoring and rebounding, totaling 10 points and four rebounds.
Dawson cooled off from there, finishing with just 12 points and eight rebounds.
The lack of a post presence, hurt the Spartans all night long as the majority of the Midshipmen points came in the paint.
Forward's Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling combined for 10 rebounds and ten points.
Trice buoyed MSU’s offense in the second half, scoring the team's first eight points of the period.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, Trice was the only offense. Excluding Trice, MSU made only two of its first 10 shot attempts in the second half.
Junior guard Denzel Valentine had a quiet game, finishing with five points on 20 percent shooting.
The Midshipmen capitalized on the Spartans offensive woes cutting the deficit to as close as three points after a three pointer by Navy senior guard Brandon Venturini made the score 53-50 with a little over seven minutes remaining.
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Venturini, an Allendale, Mich. native, had 11 points for the Midshipmen.
Navy was able to cut the deficit to three once again with 23 seconds remaining after MSU pushed the lead to seven.
Trice came to the rescue from there, his two made free throws and two defensive rebounds was the icing on the cake for MSU.
The Spartans are off until Tuesday, when they travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to face No. 4 Duke (1-0 overall) as part of the Champions Classic.
Duke defeated Presbyterian, 113-44 on Friday night.
