Summers steps up in Lucas' absence, scores career-high 26

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Spokane, Wash. — With junior guard Kalin Lucas injured on the bench for the second half of the MSU men’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament game Sunday, junior guard Durrell Summers picked up the slack for his childhood friend — and then some.

Just days after being publicly benched in a pivotal Big Ten Tournament loss, Summers was more than reliable in No. 5-seed MSU’s 85-83 win against No. 4-seed Maryland and practically unstoppable from beyond the 3-point arc.

The junior guard finished with a career-high 26 points and shot 6-for-8 from deep and 10-for-14 from the field in 30 minutes.

“I told him yesterday, ‘The only reason I sat you in the second half of the game in Indianapolis is so you’d have more legs for today,’” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “He laughed, I laughed, and he had some legs today.”

Summers, benched and criticized for his defensive lapses, had 12 points in the first half. In the second half, he scored 14 of MSU’s first 17 points. Summers said afterward Izzo’s punishment and tough love helped more than just his man-to-man defense and jump shot.

“It just helped me grow as a player and as a man,” Summers said. “I was able to make certain plays and certain decisions. What coach did during the season helped me all around.”

On the defensive

Although Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez finished with 26 points, you never would have predicted it with the defensive job MSU senior forward Raymar Morgan did on him early.

Vasquez, the ACC Player of the Year, was stymied and frustrated by the bigger and stronger Morgan in the first half. Later in the game, Vasquez stepped outside and was able to penetrate the lane, utilizing his quickness and slashing ability.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Morgan said. “He’s a great penetrator and distributor with the basketball. I wanted to just try to bother him a little bit and out-physical him in the post a little bit.

What lies ahead

Long before the Spartans and Terrapins took the floor Sunday, their Sweet 16 opponent had been decided. And it wasn’t the team everyone expected.

No. 9 Northern Iowa upset overall No. 1 Kansas in Oklahoma City on Saturday, setting the stage for the regional semifinal matchup in St. Louis next weekend.

Izzo said he caught a few minutes of the game Saturday but wasn’t going to worry about Northern Iowa on Sunday.

“I’m going to enjoy it,” Izzo said of MSU’s win. “I’m going to try to rock this plane all the way home and have some fun because God only knows we deserve to have some fun for the next 10 hours.”

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