EAST LANSING, Mich. — Shorthanded once again, Michigan State was in position to pull of arguably its gutsiest, most impressive victory of the season Monday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
Instead, it was No. 3 Purdue that put the ball in the hands of its likely All-American and 7-foot-4 Zach Edey delivered, scoring in the paint with 2.2 seconds to play, giving the Boilermakers a 64-63 victory as Tyson Walker’s final 3-point heave missed the mark.
The Spartans were without forward Malik Hall, who missed the game after aggravating a left-ankle injury in Friday night's loss at Illinois. Before the game, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo suggested Hall could be out for some time.
But after a slow start, Walker picked up the slack, scoring 30, including a jumper with 10.8 seconds to play that would have been the winner if not for Edey’s final bucket in a game he scored a career-high 32.
Walker was 12-for-24 from the field and made four 3-pointers while A.J. Hoggard scored 14 and had eight assists with Joey Hauser chipping in 10 points for the Spartans (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten).
Fletcher Loyer added 17 points for Purdue (17-1, 6-1).
While Edey was dominant in the early going for the Boilermakers by scoring 17 first-half points, the Spartans were having bigger issues at the offensive end the opening 15 minutes of the game. Four of Michigan State’s first five possessions ended in turnovers while the Spartans made just two of their first 11 shots.
Meanwhile, Edey sparked an early 10-0 run that give Purdue a 14-5 lead, one that grew to 24-11 after a dunk from Caleb Furst.
Michigan State started to find some success offensively, though, as Walker hit a runner in the lane and Hoggard completed a three-point play to cut Purdue’s lead to 24-16.
Edey then split a pair of free throws before back-to-back buckets from Hoggard and Walker. Edey hit two more free throws before Carson Cooper scored on a put-back and Walker nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to pull the Spartans within 27-25, a score that would stand heading into the halftime break as Michigan State forced a turnover and missed on a last-second heave from Hoggard before the buzzer.
Michigan State scored the first seven of the second half before Purdue scored five straight to tie the game at 32. Walker than nailed a 3-pointer to put the Spartans back in front, 35-32, with 14:21 to play.
The Boilermakers responded, though, with a 7-0 run as Michigan State suddenly couldn’t make a shot again, missing four in a row and going more than three minutes without a point while Purdue reestablished control.
The Spartans clawed back to within one when Jaden Akins hit a jumper then split a pair of free throws to make it 41-40 in favor of Purdue with 9:50 left in the game. They kept pushing and eventually took a 48-46 lead on a Hauser jumper.
It went back and forth as Walker nailed two straight 3-pointers but Purdue got one from Caleb Furst and Loyer converted a three-point play to make it 57-56 in favor of Michigan State with 3:23 to play. The teams traded buckets down the stretch until the final flurry that decided the game.
