Sophomore forward Kyle Ahrens started his second game of the season in place of an injured freshman forward Miles Bridges, the Spartans' leading scorer and rebounder. Head coach Tom Izzo went with Ahrens over makeshift big man in freshman Nick Ward, who scored a career-high 24 points in 26 minutes in MSU's last game against ORU.

Youngstown's senior forward Matt Donlan converted the first field goal in regulation, but that would be it for the Penguins in the first four minutes of play. The Spartans would hold off the Penguins on transition defense and set the pace early with an 11-0 run, forcing YSU head coach Jerry Slocum to take a timeout. Ahrens started the run for MSU, with contributions from sophomore guard Matt McQuaid, junior Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., Ward and fifth-year senior guard Eron Harris. 

YSU converted on another field goal attempt after the timeout, but MSU would extend their lead, 19-6, headed into the first media timeout. Donlan scored again after Slocum's timeout, but MSU went on a 19-4 run, spanning just over seven minutes, eating up much of the clock in the first half. 

The Penguins used the clock stop to regroup, going on a 10-0 run spanning over the next 4:22, until the next media timeout was called with 7:58 left in the half. The Penguins slated the comeback with shots by junior guard Francisco Santiago, forwards Braun Hartfield and Devin Haygood and senior center Jorden Kaufman. 

Both schools continued to exchange scores with the Spartans in the driver seat, but the Penguins still within striking distance. A three-pointer from Donlan cut MSU's lead to only four points, the lowest since the beginning of play, but was matched by a swoosh from downtown by freshman guard Josh Langford to retain a seven-point lead with 3:49 to play.

Another three-pointer from Langford gave the Spartans an eight-point edge, but it was met by three shots from the free-throw line by Donlan, who was fouled by Ahrens. Winston made it a seven-point lead again with a layup as the first half was winding down. Izzo called a timeout with 14 seconds left in the half to transpire a last-second scoring effort, but McQuaid's jumper clanked off the rim. Donlan shot the deep triple from beyond half-court as time expired, but missed, making it 37-30.

Ward and Langford tied for MSU's leading scorer for the first 20 minutes with 8 points. Collectively in the first half, MSU shot 44.7 percent from the field and converted 3-of-15 shots from downtown. The Spartans were able to capitalize on the fastbreak scoring 14 and added 18 points from Penguin turnovers. 

Make sure follow along with  The State News on Twitter, or follow along with the  live blog. You can send your thoughts, comments, and questions to beat writers  Casey Harrison and  Connor Clark as the game progresses.