Gabe Brown had 24 points and seven rebounds as No. 10 Michigan State extended its winning streak to six games by pulling away from High Point, 81-68, at East Lansing, Mich., on Wednesday afternoon.
Joey Hauser contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans (11-2). Malik Hall had 13 points and five assists, A.J. Hoggard supplied 10 points and eight assists and Julius Marble tossed in 10 points for Michigan State.
Jaden House led the Panthers (6-7) with 18 points. Zach Austin had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists and Bryson Childress added 12 points. The Spartans had a 38-25 rebounding advantage and 17 fast-break points.
The Panthers led 35-34 at halftime behind House’s 11 points.
The Spartans, who had played only one game since Dec. 11, missed their first eight field-goal attempts. A Hauser layup ended the drought nearly five minutes into the game but the offense remained sluggish.
Childress made a 3-pointer midway through the half to tie the game at 13. The Spartans followed with a 7-2 spurt, capped by Hall’s 3-pointer.
Michigan State couldn’t extend the lead to more than seven points. Childress knocked down another 3-pointer with 3:14 left in the half to tie it again at 30.
House’s 3-pointer with a minute left put High Point on top.
Hauser hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half. Michigan State clung to a slim lead from that point until Austin’s 3-pointer with 12:02 to go gave the Panthers a 50-49 edge.
With nine minutes left and the score tied, the Spartans had a 9-2 spurt, including a pair of 3s from Brown.
High Point didn’t get closer than four points the rest of the way. Michigan State established its first double-digit advantage, 74-63, on a Hall dunk with 3:55 remaining.
–Field Level Media