After a mediocre showing in the opening minutes of the first half, Michigan State clamped down and cruised to a comfortable 68-50 victory over the visiting Brown Bears.
Thanks to a stellar second-half performance, graduate student forward Joey Hauser finished with a team-high 22 points. Roughly halfway through the second half, he notched his 1,000th career point.
The Spartans’ defense was especially strong in the victory, holding the Bears to a 33% from the field and forcing nine turnovers.
MSU also dominated on the glass despite some rough stretches, out-rebounding Brown 43-36.
While Michigan State went into the locker room with a 32-18 lead over Brown, there was plenty to improve upon, especially in the opening minutes.
Both offenses struggled to make shots through the first ten minutes. At the first media timeout, MSU was shooting 22% and Brown was shooting 20%. Much to Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Izzo’s chagrin, the Spartans were also lacking on the boards in that stretch.
Senior guard Tyson Walker finally broke the scoring drought with a three and a field goal, breathing some life into the offense and the team as a whole.
After scoring a career-high 23 points against Penn State on Wednesday, junior guard A.J. Hoggard looked just as strong against Brown in the first half. Scoring from the paint, midrange and beyond the arch, he flexed his offensive versatility in the first 20 minutes, notching a team-high 11 points.
The rest of the roster followed suit, and MSU finally started to really take control of the game with improved rebounding and smoother offense.
While the Spartans’ offense looked shaky at times in the first half, the defense was stout. MSU held the Bears to a meager 23 field goal percentage at the half, and despite a poor start, out-rebounded the visitors 26-18.
While the offense still had periods of stagnation in the second, overall it was a much better showing from the unit. The defense didn’t skip a bit in the second, staying strong throughout the entire 40 minutes.
Hauser was the go-to offensive weapon throughout the entirety of the second half, adding 16 points to his total on the night.
Michigan State took complete control of the game at around the halfway point of the second period, securing a lead of over 20 points. As the game got well out of hand, Michigan State’s starters got a well-earned rest as the bench received a majority of the closing minutes.
The Spartans will get a bit of a break after Saturday evenings win. MSU won’t be back in action until Dec. 21 against Oakland.
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