Tyson Walker had 22 points and Michigan State stretched its winning streak to four games by pulling away from Indiana State 87-75 on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
Malik Hall supplied 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Spartans (8-5). A.J. Hoggard had 17 points and Jaden Akins chipped in 13 for Michigan State.
Isaiah Swope’s 26 points led the Sycamores (11-2), who had their 10-game winning streak snapped. Ryan Conwell had 16 points and Jayson Kent added 12.
The Spartans outrebounded the Sycamores 41-27 and outscored them in the paint, 46-20.
Walker scored 10 first-half points as the Spartans took a 44-34 halftime lead. The Sycamores made eight 3-pointers before the break but also committed 11 turnovers, leading to 17 Michigan State points.
The Spartans had a 7-0 spurt midway through the first half to take a 26-17 lead. Hall set up Coen Carr for an alley-oop dunk, then grabbed a loose ball after falling to the floor and tossed it to Walker for a 3-pointer.
A 3-pointer by Swope with 6:47 left in the half cut the Spartans’ lead to four. Akins hit a 3-pointer less than a minute later to get the advantage up to nine again.
Walker drained a 3-pointer in the final minute to establish the 10-point lead.
Conwell scored eight points in the first four minutes of the second half as Indiana State pulled within three, 49-46. Swope tied the score with a 3-pointer and the Sycamores took a 54-53 lead on Julian Larry’s 3-pointer.
Swope’s 3-pointer with 10:38 left gave Indiana State a 59-54 advantage. Michigan State regained the lead, 66-64, on a three-point play from Hoggard.
Indiana State was within a point at 69-68 but the Spartans then went on a 13-2 run.
Hall got it going with a layup. Walker scored Michigan State’s next four points and Hall added a jumper, a dunk and two free throws.
–Field Level Media