EAST LANSING – After a loss to Arizona in the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, the Michigan State men’s basketball team returned home to the Breslin Center to face off against the Georgia Southern Eagles. The Spartans rebounded with an 86-55 win over Georgia Southern, improving to 4-3 on the season.
The Eagles held their own to start, as MSU led 15-9 early. Both teams struggled from the field to start shooting under 40 percent from the field early in the first half.
The Spartans eventually pulled away late in the first half, extending their lead to 27-9 on a 14-0 scoring run.
MSU headed into halftime on an 11-0 scoring run, leading against the Eagles 38-11. Tyson Walker led the Spartans in the first half with seven points.
MSU’s defense played excellent in the first half, holding Georgia Southern to 18 percent shooting from the field, and only made five shots from the field in the first half.
“I liked our team a lot in the first half, I thought we were good defensively, I thought we made some mistakes offensively,” said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.
In the second half, the Eagles started fast, cutting the deficit to 21 as the Spartans still led 49-28. Georgia Southern hit seven straight shots from the field to begin the second half.
MSU responded by going on a 16-0 run and went up 64-28 with under nine minutes to play.
The Spartans’ defense continued to shine in the second half, forcing nine Eagles turnovers in the second half. Georgia Southern finished the game with 20 turnovers, while MSU continued to struggle with turnovers, with 15.
In the end, five Spartans scored in double figures in the win. Jaden Akins led the Spartans in scoring with 14 points, and AJ Hoggard added 12 points off the bench.
“Those two guys need to play a lot better if we’re gonna be consistent. I think they’re better than they’ve been playing,” said Izzo.
Tyson Walker also contributed with 13 points, and Jeremy Fears added 6 points and 10 rebounds.
“Today I was gonna try and go out and be the best I can on defense, on ball, off ball, being able to guard my yard, help my teammates, and just being able to get more rebounds and help my team,” said Fears.
The Spartans will open Big Ten Conference play next Tuesday against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
“We got to help our big outs, guard our yard and we just got to be tough,” said sophomore guard Tre Holloman on the upcoming matchup against Wisconsin.
