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Sports | Men's Basketball

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartans welcome extra practice time

Extra practice time isn’t something basketball players usually are fond of.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

MSU ahead of Miami by four at halftime

A low-scoring first half has the No. 13 MSU men’s basketball team (5-1) edging Miami (3-1) 31-27 at the end of the first half. The game marked the return of guards Gary Harris and Travis Trice from injury for MSU, with Harris making a buzzer-beating layup to end the half and double the Spartan’s lead. Harris finished the first half with a team-high five rebounds and five points, while Trice made a 3-pointer. Both teams got off to a slow start, as the Spartans and Hurricanes combined to make two of their first nine shots along with six turnovers in the game’s opening four minutes. From there, it was a back-and-forth game for the rest of the first half, with the largest lead a five-point margin in favor of MSU after Harris made a 3-pointer to put the Spartans in front 28-23 with 3:31 to go in the first half. Junior Keith Appling and sophomore Branden Dawson were the top scorers for the Spartans in the first half, with each guard tallying seven points. Guard Durand Scott led the way for Miami with 11 points and four rebounds for the Hurricanes.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Appling maturing into leader for No. 13 MSU

Since naming senior center Derrick Nix and sophomore guard Russell Byrd as co-team captains at the team’s media day in October, head coach Tom Izzo has seen leadership emerge from several different places across the roster.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Green, Izzo earn more national honors

Draymond Green and Tom Izzo were honored Sunday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Senior forward Green was named the National Player of the Year, making him the third Spartan to earn National Player of the Year honors.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Not so sweet

Phoenix — Draymond Green ended his career accomplishing one of his many goals — a career that ended three games sooner than he wished in a 57-44 Sweet 16 loss to Louisville. The senior forward surpassed Greg Kelser as the MSU all-time leading rebounder, but in a season he hoped to go to the Final Four, it didn’t matter.