COLUMBUS, Ohio — The defense that had deserted Michigan State for the better part of the last few weeks returned with a vengeance on Friday, and the result is the Spartans are moving on in the NCAA Tournament.
Behind its best defensive outing in weeks, No. 7 seed Michigan State used a 13-2 surge in the second half to pull away from No. 10 Southern Cal and hang on for the 72-62 victory at Nationwide Arena, advancing to face the winner of No. 2 Marquette and No. 15 Vermont on Sunday.
Joey Hauser scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures for the Spartans (20-12), who advance to the second round for the second straight season. Jaden Akins added 12 points, Tyson Walker 12 and A.J. Hoggard added 11 for the Spartans.
Joshua Morgan scored 14 for Southern Cal (22-11), added Kobe Johnson 13 and Reese Dixon-Waters 10. The Trojans' two first-team All-Pac-12 players were held in check, as Drew Peterson scored 11 — he had just nine while the game was still in question — and Boogie Ellis had six, his lowest total since scoring five against Cal State-Fullerton on Dec. 7.
Michigan State was in control early, building an 11-point lead, as a Hauser 3-pointer and a dunk from Mady Sissoko gave the Spartans a 24-13 lead with 9:09 to play.
But things began to shift significantly as Southern Cal went on a 15-4 run to tie the game at 28. Morgan took advantage of Michigan State's struggles on its ball-screen defense and scored eight straight during the run and had 10 by halftime.
The Spartans' offense, meanwhile, lost its rhythm once again as they closed the half just 5 for 13 from the field and went just 2 for 8 from 3-point range, both makes coming from Hauser.
The Spartans established control again early in the second half, as Hauser hit a 3-pointer before Michigan State put together an 8-0 run to push the lead to 49-40, getting two straight dunks from freshman Carson Cooper.
The Trojans clawed back once again, cutting the Michigan State lead to 53-49 on a tough jumper from Peterson. But the Spartans scored the next seven to take a 60-49 lead with 6:29 to play. Hauser and Akins then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the decisive surge and push the Michigan State lead to 66-51 with 4:24 left in the game.
Southern Cal hit a couple of 3-pointers to get within nine but couldn't get any closer, as Michigan State eventually made enough free throws to secure the victory.
