Improved defensive effort key to victory

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Spokane, Wash. – With 6:31 to play, the MSU men’s basketball team was backed up against the wall.

The No. 5 seed Spartans were down one point to No. 12 seed New Mexico State, MSU hadn’t scored a field goal in three minutes and leading scorer and team captain junior guard Kalin Lucas came up hobbling on his injured ankle.

It was do-or-die time for the Spartans.

Who was going to step up and take control?

With junior guard Chris Allen going down a few minutes later, who was going to step up?

The answer came at the other end of the floor: It was the entire MSU defense.

MSU allowed just one field goal to the Aggies in the final 8:34 as MSU was able to hold on for a 70-67 first-round victory Friday night at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

It was the kind of defensive effort that head coach Tom Izzo’s teams have been known for since he took over in East Lansing, but it was something he had yet to see from this year’s team.

“I kind of like the character of my team this time,” Izzo said after the victory. “I don’t want to say, ‘I’m glad we had a close game,’ but I learned something about these guys that I’ve been looking for this year and we’re ready to play.”

That little extra effort — extra chemistry, extra leadership, whatever — down the stretch was enough to will the Spartans over the hump and into the second round.

“In games like this, you have to get stops and we got stops when it was crucial,” said sophomore forward Draymond Green, who had a game-high 12 rebounds — including six in the final 6:31.

After giving up 29 points to the Aggies in the first half, the Spartans gave up 26 in the first nine minutes of the second half, surrendering a 13-point halftime lead.

Defensive lapses and blown leads were a trademark of this team during the regular season, and although New Mexico State climbed back from an early deficit, it wasn’t because of poor MSU defense this time.

The Spartans’ defense was highlighted by junior guard Durrell Summers.

After being benched in the team’s Big Ten Tournament loss to Minnesota on March 12 for poor defense, Summers earned the start and chipped in with improved defense, two steals, 14 points and three key offensive rebounds.

“We said we were wiping our slate clean of everything,” Green said of Summers’ turnaround. “Guys who played bad and everything, whatever the issue may have been, we were just going to wipe our slate clean and get ready to roll.”

Throughout New Mexico State’s comeback, there wasn’t a certain person Izzo could call out (other than the officials). There wasn’t a specific play that MSU couldn’t defend. The Aggies simply made shots and were able to come back.

Give the Spartans credit. With their team and leader down, they were able to man up and lock down when it absolutely mattered the most.

What’s the old saying? Defense wins championships?

Friday night it won MSU a game.

Chris Vannini is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at_ vanninic@msu.edu.

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