Michigan State once again survived an upset scare thanks to a last second bucket.
The Spartans watched a double-digit lead evaporate in the second half, but were able to still come out on top against Maryland, 65-63, from the XFINITY Center in College Park, Md. on Tuesday. Malik Hall dropped the winning bucket with 1.9 seconds left in the game to push Michigan State past the Terps.
The first half was back-and-forth until the final few minutes when the Spartans went on a big run. Michigan State ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 35-25 lead into the break.
Michigan State was able to keep their strong end to the first half going after halftime, with the Spartans building an early 15-point lead. However, Maryland wouldn’t go away, using a 11-0 run to cut that lead to just four points.
It was once again a back-and-forth game until the final minutes, with Maryland finally tying it up with 2:40 to go in the game. It would remain tied into the final seconds, until Hall dropped the winning bucket for the Spartans. Maryland’s last second half-court attempt missed to clinch the Michigan State victory.
The Spartans were led offensively by Hall — who dropped 16 points and also grabbed four rebounds. Joey Hauser and Marcus Bingham also reached double-digits in scoring with 10 points each.
With the win, Michigan State moves into a three-way tie with Wisconsin and Illinois for first place in the Big Ten. The Spartans are now 17-4 overall on the season and 8-2 in conference play.
Michigan State returns to the court on Saturday in their second of two road games this week, with a tough trip to Rutgers. Tipoff from the “RAC” is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on FS1.
