No. 3 Michigan held off a rousing second-half comeback by No. 7 Michigan State for a 83-71 road win at Friday night.
The Wolverines looked as if they would earn a decisive victory in East Lansing, finishing off the final three minutes of the first half with a 13-6 run. However, MSU’s Coen Carr may have hinted at what was to come with a thunderous dunk for the last basket of the half.
Three minutes into the second half, the Spartans began what would become a 9-0 run to cut Michigan’s lead to 46-41. That turned into an 18-9 surge that tied the score at 55-55 on a Jason Kohler 3-pointer at the 7:57 mark.
Jeremy Fears Jr. stole an Eliot Cadeau pass 30 seconds later for a fast-break layup that put Michigan State on top, 57-55. The two rivals exchanged leads twice before a Will Tschetter 3-pointer and two Morez Johnson Jr. free throws gave the Wolverines a three-point foothold.
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Michigan State twice closed to within one point, but Michigan created some distance with a Johnson dunk and Cadeau 3-pointer for a 69-63 lead. With three minutes remaining in the game, the Wolverines outscored the Spartans 6-3 to build its margin back to 10 points, 75-65. MSU couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way and Michigan pulled away by knocking down eight free throws.
Yaxel Lendeborg led the Wolverines with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He converted 13 of 15 free throws to help lift Michigan to the win. Cadeau followed with 17 points and 6 assists, as Michigan improved to 20-1 (10-1 in the Big Ten) for the season.
For the Spartans, Fears scored a game-high 31 points with 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. Kohler added 12 points and 5 boards for Michigan State, who dropped to 19-3 (9-2 Big Ten).
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Michigan lost both of its games against Michigan State last season, including a 79-62 loss in the regular-season finale in East Lansing. But the Wolverines and head coach Dusty May seemed to be better prepared for the environment at the Breslin Center.
“This was electric; I’m not saying we got a very warm welcome,” May said afterward. “But this was a good sign for our guys to be able to battle in this type of physical game, and come up with enough rebounds and loose basketballs to get over the hump against a team we struggled with last year.”
May went on to say his team didn’t adjust well to physical play against Big Ten opponents and tried to address that with recruiting players for this season.
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Following wins over No. 5 Nebraska and the No. 7 Spartans, Michigan is off until next Thursday when it hosts Penn State (9-12). Michigan State travels to Minnesota (10-11) for a Wednesday matchup.
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