Malik Hall scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting as Michigan State posted a comfortable 80-72 road win over Penn State on Wednesday in University Park, Pa.
Jaden Akins chipped in 20 points to complement Hall, who went 8 of 8 from the foul line and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Carson Cooper contributed 10 points for the Spartans (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten), who swept the season series with the Nittany Lions in emphatic fashion. Host Michigan State smothered Penn State in the first matchup, 92-61, on Jan. 4.
In this one, the Nittany Lions (12-13, 6-8) made 12 of 23 3-pointers and all 12 of their free throws, but they got outrebounded 33-23 and committed 15 turnovers. Ace Baldwin Jr. (15 points), Zach Hicks (15) and Nick Kern Jr. (14) were the team’s leading scorers.
Michigan State led 16-13 after about nine minutes before it really started to take command of the game. Akins converted a layup and Hall made two buckets to ignite a 16-5 run that put the visitors in front by 14 points.
Akins added a 3-pointer later in the surge before capping the burst with a dunk to make it 32-18.
The Spartans led by as many as 17 late in the half until Puff Johnson’s 3-pointer and Baldwin’s layup helped the hosts get within 45-31 at the break.
Akins led all scorers with 16 points in the first half as Michigan State shot 56.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Akins accounted for four of those 3-pointers in six attempts.
Penn State scored seven of the first eight points in the second half, but Michigan State quickly restored its lead to double figures.
The Nittany Lions got within eight points midway through the second half before Hall made four free throws to help the Spartans push the lead back to 14.
Michigan State led by as many as 16 down the stretch.
–Field Level Media