Joey Hauser had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 73-55 season-opening win over visiting Northern Arizona on Monday.
Pierre Brooks added 14 points and A.J. Hoggard had nine points and eight assists for the Spartans, who had 10 players score.
Jalen Cone posted 20 points and 10 rebounds and Liam Lloyd chipped in 11 points for the Lumberjacks.
Leading 47-36 with 11:54 remaining, Michigan State went on a 12-2 run over the next 3:43 to take a 59-38 lead with 8:11 left.
The Lumberjacks made a mini run, scoring the next six points to cut the deficit to 59-44 with 6:24 remaining, but the Spartans were never seriously threatened.
A 3-point play by A.J. Hoggard and a 3-pointer by Hauser gave Michigan State a 65-46 lead with 4:22 remaining.
Northern Arizona managed to pull within 67-51 with 2:57 remaining, but that is as close as the Lumberjacks got the rest of the way.
Michigan State jumped all over Northern Arizona in the first 10 minutes, taking a 20-5 lead with 10:01 remaining in the first half.
Northern Arizona went on an 11-4 surge to cut Michigan State’s lead to 24-16 4:20 remaining, but the Spartans responded and took a 34-20 lead into the intermission.
The Spartans shot 44.6 percent from the field (29 of 65), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (9 of 27) and outrebounded the Lumberjacks by a 46-37 margin.
Michigan State also only committed nine turnovers.
Northern Arizona shot 31.7 percent from the field (19 of 60), 26.7 percent from 3-point range (8 of 30), committed 12 turnovers and only got five points from its bench.
Only 29 fouls were called in the game.
–Field Level Media