In a first half marked by the play of MSU's role players, the Spartans are tied with Indiana at the break, 34-34.
It was a balanced half of scoring for MSU, as eight different Spartans contributed points. Senior guard Travis Trice and junior guard Denzel Valentine were held to just seven points combined.
Sophomore guard Alvin Ellis and freshman forward Marvin Clark did a terrific job in their roles, as they scored 9 and 6 points, respectively. Clark was active on the glass, finishing the half with four rebounds.
Clark started in place of senior forward Branden Dawson, after Dawson was still recovering from a head injury suffered in Wednesday night’s win over Purdue.
An even first four minutes picked up steam when Indiana sophomore forward Troy Williams stepped right in front of pass from junior guard Denzel Valentine and slammed home the fast break dunk to tie the game at six.
Senior guard Travis Trice answered with the game’s first three for the Spartans.
When MSU took a 15-12 lead, Indiana responded with an NBA three from redshirt junior Nick Zeisloft, and on the next possession, junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea threw down a left-handed put-back dunk to ignite Assembly Hall.
Foul trouble has been an issue all year for the Spartans. In this one, MSU freshman guard Lourwals Nairn, who has been a spark-plug offensively and defensively, picked up his third foul with 6:02 left in the first half.
Zeisloft hit another big three for the Hoosiers at the 4:30 mark, capping a four-point offensive possession to put his team up 25-22.
A circus pass from Valentine to Ellis in the corner for three allowed MSU to tie the game at 34 before the break.
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