MSU defeats Penn State at Breslin 67-65
Junior guard Chris Allen passes the ball down in the post during the first half against Penn State on Thursday night at Breslin Center.
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In its last two home games — both losses — the MSU men’s basketball team has drowned playing catch-up, poking its head above water to lead briefly before dying in the end.
On Thursday, the Spartans were on the opposite end of that buoy, beating Penn State 67-65.
No. 11 MSU (23-7 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) amassed multiple double-digit leads against the second-to-last-place Nittany Lions (11-18, 3-14) on Thursday night at Breslin Center before surrendering a one-basket lead in the last five minutes.
Clutch free throws, veteran leadership and some home-crowd energy finally all came together, though, as the Spartans gritted out the victory.
The win kept the Spartans from their first home three-game losing streak since 1997 and inched them one step closer to consecutive Big Ten titles.
Photo: Senior forward ...
“We turned it over a couple times or gave them the ball and told them to go down and make a layup,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
“College basketball isn’t a charity event.
“We just didn’t seem to respect, maybe, the game. … We’re not very happy with the way we played. In fact, I’m flat- out embarrassed.”
Sophomore forward Draymond Green was electric off the bench for MSU on his 20th birthday, going for 14 points and nine rebounds. His two-handed slam with 2:15 to go tied the game 62-62 and the Spartans never trailed again.
Senior forward Raymar Morgan, who had 16 points and eight rebounds, knocked down two free throws with 1:24 to go, giving MSU its final lead of the game.
Penn State forward David Jackson missed a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left that would have given the Nittany Lions the lead and Morgan again iced it with two more free throws.
The 16 points make Morgan the fifth player in MSU basketball history to record 1,500 points and 700 rebounds.
“I’m comfortable,” Morgan said.
“Just trying to let the game come to me and stay aggressive. You have to, being a senior and just playing here for a couple of my last games here.”
Penn State guards Talor Battle and Chris Babb led the visitors with 16 a piece in the losing effort as Penn State shot 59 percent from the field in the second half.
The Spartans went into the break leading 32-25, but by the 13:25 mark of the second half, the Nittany Lions had tied the game 44-44.
“It’s been a very tough year for us and this is kind of the way games have gone,” Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis said.
“But our kids have always fought and played hard and tried to do the things we’ve asked them to do. That’s our season.”
The Spartans recovered during a media timeout and came out to take back the 10-point advantage on a 3-pointer from Summers with 9:28 to go but Penn State climbed back to take the short-lived lead.
Junior guard Kalin Lucas and Morgan combined to go, 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes.
The Spartans will look to wrap up a share of the regular season Big Ten title with Senior Day on Sunday when Michigan comes to Breslin Center (4 p.m. CBS).
After the “embarrassing” performance, a noticeably peeved and determined Izzo said he wished he could call every former player to, in a sense, apologize.
“We’re going to play better on Sunday,” Izzo said.
“We’re going to find a way to win with somebody.”
Commentary
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SoCal Spartan
(03/05/10 9:31am)Report
Personally I think it is quite lame that we only beat the 11-18, 3-14 Big Ten Nittany Lions by TWO points. I typically hate winers but man, this crap makes me one.
We should house these teams! One team tied for first in the Big Ten vs. #11. We should have prepared to provide them with a squashing. What happens, they ALMOST win.
Not good for the March Madness hopes, not god at all.
:(
Regardless thanks for the win and Go Green, Go White, GO STATE!
Jeff '96
(03/05/10 9:37am)Report
Come on guys! If we can’t dominate Penn State, what does that say for us in the tournament??? I really think the problem for us is that we have too many talented guys and none are selfish enough to take over the game until the game is on the line. Other teams like OSU and PSU have one main go-to guy; the guys that put up 20-30 points per night. The other teams work to get it to their one or two go-to guys while we pass it 20 times per possession waiting for someone to pull the trigger so we can figure out who might have the hot hand. And just as things get going, it seems like Izzo is switching everyone up. It’s like a hockey line change every 3 minutes. Fresh bodies are great, but it takes away from the flow and rhythm of the game. Get consistent guys because March IS here!!! Go State!
mvt
(03/05/10 12:34pm)Report
Starting to think about my March Madness picks. Almost regardless of what happens in the Big10 tournament it will be hard for me to pick MSU beyond the Sweet 16. I’m just not seeing the kind of consistent playmaking required to go deep in the tournament. Can anyone honestly see this team beating the likes of last year’s UConn, Louisville, or Kansas ? They can’t slam the door, they can’t get a defensive stop in crunch time and they have a hard time creating shots.