Sophomore forward Javon Bess looks to pass the ball around Rutgers forward Jonathon Laurent during the second half of the game against Rutgers on Jan. 31, 2016 at Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Scarlet Knights, 96-62.
For the second straight game, an onslaught of 3-pointers helped the No. 12 MSU men's basketball team (19-4, 6-4 Big Ten) to a decisive victory. This time, it was a 17-for-32 shooting performance from beyond the arc to help the Spartans to a 96- 62 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-16, 0-9).
MSU senior guard Denzel Valentine led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Senior forward Matt Costello added 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, while senior guard Bryn Forbes chipped in with 18 points, all of which came in the first half.
Rutgers was led by 17 points and five assists from freshman guard Corey Sanders, while sophomore guard Mike Williams added 18 points for the Scarlet Knights. Senior Rutgers guard Omari Grier finished with 17 points.
Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Spartans were shooting 7-of-11 from downtown and had built a 29-13 lead.
The Spartans would go on to finish the half shooting 9-of-16 from beyond the arc.
Forbes led the way with six of those first half 3-pointers and would finish the half with all of his 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
Rutgers wouldn't go away, though -- at least not in the early going. The Scarlet Knights countered MSU's initial onslaught with a 12-3 run to close the gap to seven, 32-25. This prompted a timeout from MSU head coach Tom Izzo at the 7:12 mark of the first half.
Sanders led the Scarlet Knights with 12 points and three assists at the break.
The Spartans eventually halted the Scarlet Knight run and took a 44-33 lead into halftime.
"We know what we're capable of defensively," said Valentine, who was disappointed with the defensive effort in the first half. "It was really frustrating. We were getting back-doored, people were driving around us. It wasn't like they were hitting crazy shots. If people are hitting crazy shots, you can do what do, but it was mental errors that was messing us up."
The Spartans would buckle down in second half, where they would see much of the same shooting success. MSU continued to drain 3-pointers at an extremely efficient rate, opening up the second half shooting 4-of-6 from downtown to take a 66-43 lead with 13:19 left in the game.
MSU never looked back. The Spartans opened the floodgates, dominating in every facet of the game to win, 96-62 . MSU finished the game with 28 assists on 33 made baskets and outrebounded Rutgers, 56-27.
For Izzo, while he was pleased with some of his team's performance Sunday night, there is still much to be worked on, most notably the team's defense.
"The job is to be getting better each thing, each day," Izzo said. "I thought we took some strides, but it was consistency."
Next up for MSU, they'll take on in-state rival Michigan on Feb. 6 in Ann Arbor. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
"It's getting toward the end of the year," Valentine said. "We've got eight games left. It's kind of depressing but it kind of makes (it) a little bit more important when there's eight games left."
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