Michigan State and Oregon, two teams struggling with injury problems who came into the game shorthanded, squared off in the Phil Knight Invitational on Friday night.
Behind a strong effort from the MSU defense, and a breakout performance from Pierre Brooks, the Spartans grinded out a tough 74-70 victory over the Ducks.
Michigan State got out to a fast start offensively, scoring 9 points in the first five minutes of the game, looking like they were ready to face the Oregon 2-3 zone. That offensive success would quickly change, and the Spartans would be held to just 10 points over the next 11 minutes.
Trailing 27-19 with just over four minutes to play in the half, the Spartans were able to put together a 14-0 run to capture all of the momentum in the contest. Oregon would hit a three at the buzzer, but the Spartans led 33-30 going into the half.
The second half saw both teams trading blows left and right, keeping the game between one score for majority of the half.
An 8-0 run with 6:30 to go gave the Spartans a 58-52 lead, a lead they wouldn’t give away.
Late game struggles presented themselves again when a 64-57 lead was dwindled to 68-67, but 6 made free throws by AJ Hoggard, Mady Sissoko and Tyson Walker preserved a 74-70 victory for MSU.
Joey Hauser paved the way for Michigan State, scoring 18 points and adding 10 rebounds for a double double. Tyson Walker added 18 points and 8 assists, while Pierre Brooks had a 15-point breakout performance.
The Spartans are back in action on Sunday against Portland in the fifth place game of the Phil Knight Invitational.
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