Gabe Brown had 15 points Saturday as No. 19 Michigan State rolled past Penn State 80-64 in East Lansing, Mich.
Marcus Bingham Jr. recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds along with three blocks for the Spartans (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten). Tyson Walker contributed 10 points, nine assists and three steals.
Malik Hall had nine points and six rebounds, while Max Christie, A.J. Hoggard and Joey Hauser each contributed seven points.
Seth Lundy led Penn State (5-5, 0-2) with 18 points and seven rebounds. John Harrar had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Jalen Pickett added 13 points and five assists.
Michigan State outscored Penn State 31-3 on fast-break points and had a 40-28 rebounding advantage. The Spartans also shot 52.5 percent from the field.
The transition game was the difference in the first half as the Spartans raced to a 42-29 halftime lead. They scored 20 fast-break points while the Nittany Lions had none. Penn State also missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.
Michigan State was clinging to a two-point lead, 27-25, with about six minutes left in the half. The Spartans scored the next six points, including a pair of Hoggard layups.
They also scored the last seven points of the half, including a 3-pointer by Hall and a 3-point play by Bingham, who had seven points and seven rebounds before the break.
A 9-0 spurt early in the second half lifted the Spartans’ advantage to 51-32. Christie scored five of those points.
Bingham made an open 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 64-46 lead with 11:44 remaining. The margin remained in double digits the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media