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Sports

BASKETBALL

Spartans hold off Hawkeyes from late rally, win 75-64

Brian Charlton
February 7, 2005

Iowa City, Iowa - MSU had been in this situation before, letting a lead slip away in the second half on the road. But this time, senior guard Tim Bograkos stepped to the free-throw line with a three-point lead over Iowa with more than a minute left. With 15,500 Iowa fans screaming and Iowa on a 13-4 scoring run to control the momentum, Bograkos didn't worry about the pressure.

SPORTS

Section's complaints need to be left at door

As I sat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena 10 minutes before tipoff, about 80 members of the Izzone student section paraded around the outskirts of the Iowans' court chanting "Go state." The Izzone's white looked awkward in the sea of yellow and black, but its antics finally got the nearly 300 members of the Iowa fan section, the Hawk's Nest, to stand and rally around their own school's pride. Izzone members marched around the upper part of the arena for nearly an hour, and even though they were just a small group, they could still be heard throughout the arena - a comforting feeling for the Spartans. "It's always nice to come to an opposing court and have 100-200 fans there," head coach Tom Izzo said after the game.

FOOTBALL

MSU alumni to play in Super Bowl on Sunday

Chris Meagher
February 4, 2005

MSU will be well represented this weekend at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., as three former Spartans are in the Sunshine State preparing for this weekend's battle. Philadelphia's Mike Labinjo and Ike Reese will be going up against fellow Spartan alumnus Jim Miller from New England on Sunday evening when the Eagles face the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Labinjo spent his first 14 weeks with the Eagles on the practice squad, but was brought up to the active squad because of another player's injury mid-December.

SPORTS

Spartans see success at Breslin

Chris Barsotti
February 3, 2005

Wins at home are key to winning any sports championship and, Breslin Center has been a place that has been very good to the Spartans this year. The MSU women's basketball team (18-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) enters tonight's game ranked No.

SPORTS

MSU football inks 24 recruits for '05 class

Chris Meagher
February 3, 2005

MSU head football coach John L. Smith welcomed 24 new members to the Spartans family Wednesday afternoon, the first day for recruits to officially sign with a university. Speed, combined with the ability to hit, is the name of the game according to Smith, and that is the type of player he went after. "It's a real hard game," Smith said.

SPORTS

Hawkeyes' leading scorer off team for alleged assault

Jon Styf
February 3, 2005

Iowa's leading scorer has been dismissed from the basketball team after facing legal charges for the second time in his college career. Guard Pierre Pierce is under investigation by West Des Moines police for intent to commit sexual abuse, burglary, criminal mischief and false imprisonment.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers gear up for final 10 games

Eric Fish
February 2, 2005

Ten games. That's all that's left for the MSU hockey team in CCHA play, making it ever so crucial for the Spartans to string together some wins. It's no mystery that the season thus far has been plagued with inconsistency and misfortune for MSU, but finding itself in a sixth-place conference tie and the thought of not having home ice for the CCHA playoffs is not something the Spartans want to welcome. "As games diminish, your chances to affect where you are obviously start to evaporate," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

BASKETBALL

Falling short

Brian Charlton
February 2, 2005

An unruly Izzone student section and several late runs by MSU weren't enough to stop No. 1 Illinois and its talented trio of guards. Fighting Illini guards Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown combined for 54 points, each finding ways to dash any hopes of an MSU comeback.

FOOTBALL

Football team adds Birmingham recruit

Chris Meagher
January 31, 2005

Football team adds Birmingham recruitThe MSU football team picked up another recruit during the weekend, and the Spartans didn't have to go far to secure him. Adam Decker, a linebacker from Birmingham Brother Rice, committed to the Spartans over Georgia Tech, Princeton and Boston College.

BASKETBALL

Final tuneup

Matt Bishop
January 31, 2005

In a warm-up match before Tuesday's tilt with No. 1 Illinois, the No. 15 MSU men's basketball team cruised to a 92-75 win over Oakland on Saturday night at Breslin Center. It was the calm before the storm. "On a one-day prep, we tried to pick a couple things we wanted to accomplish," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.

ICE HOCKEY

Under-18 team gets best of MSU

Eric Fish
January 31, 2005

It was the same old story for the MSU hockey team when the Spartans met the US National Under-18 team in exhibition play Friday at Munn Ice Arena. They outshot USA 49 to 23 but lost, 4-3, and although the game won't count in the standings, senior captain Jim Slater called the loss "embarrassing." "I'll admit it - I'm embarrassed to really talk about it," he said.

SPORTS

Izzone: Remember hoops team is what matters most

Thursday's game against Michigan was the first real basketball game I've been to this year since the new Izzone rules were implemented. It's not as if I didn't want to go to any regular-season games before that, I just couldn't - prior commitments to this thing you're reading. I very well knew I could not attend many games this year.

SPORTS

Women's track finishes in 3rd place in meet

Yvette Lanier The State News The women's track team placed third at the Michigan Intercollegiate. Junior Taren James placed first in the triple jump, which was the fifth-best indoor distance in MSU history.