Men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo can't remember a time where his team moved the ball so well this early in the season.
The Spartans (7-3 overall) looked like a well-oiled machine on offense Sunday night, dishing 25 assists on 34 made baskets en route to defeating Oakland (4-6 overall) at Breslin Center, 87-61. Dawson finished with 15 points and six rebounds in an aggressive offensive night for the sometimes-reluctant shooter. He needs just three points to reach 1,000 for his career.
Junior guard Denzel Valentine led MSU with 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and junior guard Bryn Forbes and freshman forward Marvin Clark each had 12 points.
The Spartans continued their trend of finding wide open shooters. They shot 55.7 percent overall and nailed 10-of-17 3-point attempts.
Izzo credits San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Jim Boylen, formally Izzo's top assistant coach, for MSU's improved ball movement. Boylen visited the Spartans over the summer and discussed the Spurs' noted ability to move the ball on offense.
"From the day we started practice in the summer, I started harping on that," Izzo said. "And yet when you have players like Valentine and Trice who are very, very good passers, Dawson is an excellent passer. We have three very good passers in that group, and I think that's part of it."
Though Dawson couldn't reach the 1,000-point milestone, Forbes scored his 1,000thcareer point on a deep jumper with 14:49 left in the first half.
"It's a good accomplishment," Forbes said. "I pride myself on scoring so I'm happy to do that. But I have my eyes on a bigger goal right now, and that's getting to where we want to go"
The Golden Grizzlies hung with the Spartans for most of the first half, but MSU created some separation as the game went on, taking a 14-point lead with 1:51 remaining.
Izzo said MSU improved defensively after halftime and pointed to senior guard Travis Trice as a huge reason for that. Trice, who has a sore ankle, struggled with his shot but finished the night with eight assists.
"It was nice to see our guys respond at halftime," Izzo said. "We got after it a little bit after halftime. I did not think we're sharp defensively, I thought we were making shots, but I didn't think we were as sharp defensively and boy, give Travis credit. He did a hell of a job (defensively)."
MSU started the second half on an 11-4 run. Moments after missing everything on a shot attempt, Dawson scored in transition early in the half to give MSU a 50-35 lead.
Forbes made it a 20-point lead, 55-35, at the 17:05 mark with a calm corner 3-pointer. Boos rained from the stands after the referees whistled a foul on what looked like a clean block from Dawson, but Clark Jr. drew cheers moments later with an impressive put-back slam at the 12:49 mark, giving the Spartans a 60-43 lead.
It didn't take long for Clark Jr. to excite the crowd again — completing a breathtaking steal-and-slam with 11:21 to play to extend MSU's lead to 19.
"Ultimately, defense created those plays," Clark Jr. said. "Crashing the offensive glass hard created some of those plays. As long as I'm playing hard I can provide energy off the bench." Valentine's fifth 3-pointer of the night gave MSU a 70-50 lead with 8:40 to play. Sophomore forward Gavin Schilling leap high for an offensive rebound on the next possession, proceeding to convert a layup in traffic.
Forbes, whose shooting touch has been very accurate over the past few weeks, drained another 3-pointer at 4:26 mark to make it a 79-54 lead.
MSU will return to action Wednesday night, facing Eastern Michigan at 9 p.m.
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