Michigan State turned to its go-to man of late, junior forward Malik Hall, who took his defender on his left hip to the rim and finished a right-handed layup through traffic to give Michigan State the win.

It was the ending of another strong game for Hall, who carried Michigan State’s offense throughout the night. Hall finished with 16 points, accounting for 24.6% of Michigan State’s scoring tonight and closed it with his first career game-winning shot.

Hall saved Michigan State, who held a 15-point lead early in the second half but quickly squandered it due to long stretches of incompetence offensively. The Spartans went 6:08 without a field goal before Hall's heroics, allowing Maryland to knot the game at 63 before Hall saved the day. 

MSU shot 40.7% from the field and had 11 turnovers (eight in the second half), making it far from a perfect game. Maryland’s offense was also caught in the slog, shooting 42.9% and turning it over 12 times. 

The ugly mistakes started from the jump for Michigan State; beginning with a turnover leading to an easy layup in transition for the Terrapins.  

The first of MSU’s three first-half turnovers was the start of a heavyweight bout as the teams traded blows for most of the first half. The lead traded hands five times as the teams felt each other out in the first matchup of the season. 

Michigan State landed the first blow and took a lead just after the first media timeout after freshman guard Max Christie sank three free throws to put Michigan State up 8-5 four and a half minutes into the game.

MSU was not able to push the lead past more than five thanks to Maryland’s strong start inside. The Terrapins quickly retook a 17-14 lead by the halfway point in the first half thanks to scoring 10 early points in the paint against MSU’s normally sturdy interior defense. 

Michigan State answered the punch with a pair of paint baskets courtesy of junior center Julius Marble II to jump back out to 18-17, but the struggle for control continued. 

MSU and Maryland continued to answer each spark of momentum with a counter of its own until the final four minutes of the half, when the Spartans began to take control with the game tied at 25. 

MSU rattled off a 10-0 run to close the half to take a 35-25 lead into the locker room. Maryland could not get out of its own way, turning the ball over eight times in the first half and four times in the final five minutes. Michigan State, normally in Maryland’s shoes, jumped on the mistakes and scored 14 points off turnovers to go up double-digits through 20 minutes.

The lead quickly blossomed to 15 points in the first two minutes of the second half after yet another Maryland turnover, but Maryland proved it was not ready to roll over.

The Terrapins got off the mat and ripped off a 11-0 run in two minutes to cut the lead to 42-38 with just under 15 minutes left. Again, the paint was the key for the Terrapins, who scored eight of the 11 points inside in that stretch. 

Hall was able to stop the bleeding with back-to-back scores at the rim to push the lead back to eight a minute later. Maryland cut the lead down to four once again with eight minutes left before senior center Marcus Bingham Jr. hit his second three of the second half to make it 57-50.

Michigan State could not find any mojo on offense, going over six minutes without a field goal down the stretch. MSU’s familiar issues of turnovers and poor shot selection resumed at the worst moment and paralyzed the offense down the stretch.

Maryland had yet another counter for Michigan State. The Terrapins closed the gap to 59-56 with 3:44 left. Maryland finally tied the game with 2:43 left, after Russell hit an off-balanced three to square the game at 61 and force a Michigan State timeout.

The score remained deadlocked at 63 heading into the final minute of the game and Maryland having possession. Russell was unable to create anything late in the possession and turned the ball over to MSU with 24 seconds left, giving Hall the platform to become a hero.

It is the third game-winning shot for Michigan State this season in the final five seconds. MSU previously beat Loyola Chicago with an alley oop to Bingham as time expired and Minnesota with a senior forward Joey Hauser tip-in. 

With the win, MSU moves to 17-4 on the year and 8-2 in conference play. The Spartans return to action in New Jersey Saturday afternoon against Rutgers.