Michigan State basketball survived a late Villanova surge to hold on to a 73-71 victory at the Breslin Center in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Michigan State lead by as many as 16 in the second half, but Villanova came roaring back, cutting the deficit to 1. A missed three in the waning seconds by Wildcat big man Eric Dixon sealed the Spartans victory.
It took a good portion of the first half for both teams to get their offense’s going, with the Spartans and Wildcats stuck at a 9-9 tie with under twelve minutes to go in the half.
The Spartans were able to up the intensity and began outpacing Villanova, going on a 22-11 run over the next ten minutes to take a 31-20 lead.
Both teams traded several buckets and MSU took a 34-24 lead into the half.
Michigan State made 8 three pointers in the first half, accounting for 24 of the team’s 34 points.
Michigan State came out of the gates in the second half on fire, extending their lead to 16 at a score of 61-45. That is when Villanova decided to make it into a ball game.
The Wildcats would outscore the Spartans 25-11 over the next 8 minutes, cutting the deficit to 72-71 with just over 30 seconds to play in the game.
Tyson Walker would be fouled, and split a pair of free throws, giving the Spartans a 73-71 advantage heading into what would be the final possession of the game.
Villanova drew up a play coming out of a timeout that resulted in a Eric Dixon three that was heavily contested by Mady Sissoko. The shot missed strong off the back iron, and the Spartans prevailed.
Walker led the scoring for MSU, scoring 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting. AJ Hoggard had a near triple double, scoring 13 points while adding 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
Joey Hauser had 13 and Malik Hall had 12, rounding out the four double digit scorers for Michigan State.
The Spartans will be back in action next Thursday, Thanksgiving, in the PK80 tournament when they take on Alabama.
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