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Spartans coming together at right time

March 11, 2011

Chris Vannini

Indianapolis – There isn’t much left in junior forward Delvon Roe’s knees, but there was enough.

Enough to sky above everyone for a key tip-in during a second-half Purdue run, and enough to get the rare block on Purdue forward JaJuan Johnson two minutes later.

The Spartans got enough from role players, coupled with a career-high 30 points from injured senior guard Kalin Lucas, for an impressive 74-56 victory over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

The Spartans (19-13) got 22 points from their bench and eight different players scored.

Outside of Lucas’ career night, the Spartans got a seven-point, eight-rebound and four-block night out of Roe, who was matched up with Purdue’s star Johnson for most of the night.

“I feel like if I’m going to go to war and I have to war and I have to take somebody with me, I’m taking this man any day of the year,” Green said of Roe’s performance.

Last season, Roe helped the Spartans to the Final Four basically on one leg. Right now, his legs are as healthy as they’ve been in years, which isn’t saying much. But as he always does, Roe gave everything he had and it helped MSU to another win.

“We knew – when we got deep in that second half in the game – we knew we were going to win that game because we have a lot of veteran guys who have been in that situation and can pull it off.”

The Spartans used the trademarks head coach Tom Izzo has created in his time at MSU: rebounding and defense.

MSU outrebounded the Boilermakers, 41-28, and held them to 37.3 percent shooting from the floor and 3-for-16 from 3-point range.

“Everybody has been waiting to say, ‘When is that game coming with Michigan State where they just play a great game?’” Green said. “Well, I’ve been waiting to say the same thing, when are we going to play that great game? I had a feeling we were going to do it tonight.

“Our backs are still up against the wall. It’s a good win for us, but we still have more to do.”

With the win, the Spartans likely secured their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid after fighting through the adversity and pressure all season.

There was no better time than to put it all together. From the scouting report, to walk-throughs, to the early spurt to grab a big lead to the defensive hold to win the game.

“In 24 hours, I thought my assistants and my players did an incredible, incredible job of prepping for this game with personnel. … To do all that in 24 hours takes an incredible staff and an incredible group of guys to just pay attention to what you need,” Izzo said of the team’s effort.

One year ago, Lucas went down with an injury in March and the Spartans finally came together as a team to make a run. Lucas is down, but not out, this year and once again, the Spartans are beginning to come together at the perfect time.

“I’m just as proud of this team today – only today – as I’ve been in a long time, in fact years, so it was a great win for us.”

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