The No. 2 Spartans annihilated the Savannah State Tigers, 108-52, on New Year's Eve for their 13th straight win and fourth straight game scoring 100 points or more, a program record.
MSU (14-1 overall) outscored Savannah State (3-12 overall) in the first half, 51-38, and only allowed the Tigers to shoot 35.1 percent from the field. However, Savannah State shot 8-of-21 from beyond the arc in the first half, which kept them in contention with the Spartans.
Even with the Tigers 3-point shooting, sophomore forward Nick Ward kept MSU ahead in the first half by scoring 16 points on 7-of-7 from the floor, and collecting six rebounds. Ward finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of season, without missing a shot from the field.
MSU would commit 12 turnovers in the first half compared to the Tigers 10, but outscored Savannah State, 19-7, in points off turnovers. Tom Izzo's squad would finish with 17 turnovers.
In the second half, the Spartans would pull away and outscore the Tigers, 57-20. MSU would also out rebound Savannah State on Sunday afternoon, 57-28.
Sophomore guard Miles Bridges collected his third double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and retrieving 21 rebounds. Fellow sophomore guard Cassius Winston would also gather his third double-double this season, scoring 16 points and dishing out 13 assists.
Nine different Spartans would score on the afternoon, with six scoring over 10 points, with freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (10 points), junior guard Matt McQuaid (14 points) and sophomore guard Joshua Langford (11 points) joining Ward, Bridges and Winston.
The Spartans will return to Big Ten play this Thursday night at 8 p.m., as they'll host the 12-3 Maryland Terrapins. This game will be shown on FS1.
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