MSU edges out Boilermakers, remains perfect in Big Ten play

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Purdue gave the No. 6 MSU men’s basketball team all it could handle
Tuesday night at Breslin Center, but the Spartans managed to squeak
out a 78-75 win.

The Spartans jumped out to a 9-2 lead and held the Boilermakers to 28 percent field goal shooting in the first half, but MSU had to overcome a 20-6 Purdue run to start the second half and continued pressure down the stretch.

Freshman guard Kalin Lucas led the Spartans with 16 points while Chris Kramer provided the scoring for Purdue, tallying 19 points. MSU junior center Goran Suton also had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

After each team split a pair of free throws in the last minute, the
Spartans found themselves up a point with less than 30 seconds to go.

It was MSU co-captain Travis Walton who connected on a two-point
basket with 18 seconds remaining to give MSU a 76-73 lead.

After the game, Walton said he didn’t expect to take the last shot.

“It felt good to hit the shot but we’re a family here, so any
accolades — if it’s somebody else doing it, we’re happy for them,” he said.

Despite the tight victory, MSU coach Tom Izzo called it the first time in “a lot of years” where his team got out-hustled and out-defended.

“That doesn’t happen very often. I can count on one hand the times
it’s happened at home,” he said. “Players play. Tough players win.
Tough players lost by a couple tonight. It wasn’t us.”

Purdue’s Keaton Grant air-balled a three-point shot on the next
possession and Purdue was forced to foul Walton. The junior guard made both free throws to seal the deal for the Green and White.

“You’ve got to give Walton credit for going the whole game without
shooting the ball and then taking that shot he can make,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “Guys like Walton help you win games.”

While MSU went into halftime leading 39-30, that advantage dwindled
quickly as Purdue began the second half on a 13-4 run, tying the score at 43-43. But Lucas gave the Spartans the lead again with a cutting layup at 15:32.

Purdue’s Nemanja Calasan and Grant gave Purdue its first lead of the game with less than 15 minutes to play in the second half, connecting on back-to-back buckets and taking a 50-45 lead.

“I’m happy we got punched in the mouth and we’ll see if we get up from it,” Izzo said. “I’ll learn a lot about my team in the next three days. That’s one of the reasons we haven’t won a championship: we’re taking punches — we’re not delivering them.”

Senior guard Drew Neitzel, who didn’t connect on a field goal in the first half, responded with a three-point basket and freshman guard Durrell Summers followed it with an and-one basket to regain the lead for MSU, part of a 17-6 run.

The Spartans still had trouble extending their lead to more than a few points and Purdue regained the advantage again at 6:16 via a Green jump shot.

It was not until the 2:37 mark of the second half did the Spartans
regain the lead, thanks to two free throws from sophomore forward Raymar Morgan, giving MSU a 73-72 advantage.

Thanks to 17 MSU turnovers, the Boilermakers had 24 points off
giveaways. The Spartans shot 61 percent on the night and extended its winning streak to 11 games.

MSU tallied seven blocks in the game, all in the first half. With
three belonging to senior center Drew Naymick, who moved into a tie for first place as the career blocks leader at MSU.

MSU continues play against Iowa at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Iowa City.

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