CLEVELAND– No. 2-seed Michigan State had its bench step up to score 34 points and stage a second-half comeback over the No. 10-seed New Mexico Lobos for a 71-63 victory in the Round of 32.
“We started out slow, so I was just trying to bring some juice off the bench with my scoring, defense, and being a leader and a captain,” said Spartans junior guard Tre Holloman.
Holloman was a two-way threat, defending the Lobos’ leading scorer, junior guard Donovan Dent, and leading the Spartans in first-half scoring when MSU was struggling to find points.
The Lobos starting five dominated the Spartans to begin the game. At one point, New Mexico had a 20-4 advantage in production from its starters.
The Spartans had to overcome a slow shooting night and poor performances from cornerstones freshman guard Jase Richardson and junior forward Jaxon Kohler.
“Another team that I thought played well, in the first half of the game, that was as good of a barrage that we got hit with,” Izzo said.
After a rough shooting night against Bryant, Spartans senior guard Jaden Akins responded with a team-high 16 points, knocking down clutch shots when MSU was in dire need of points.
“It felt good, I haven’t been shooting good, so it was just good to be efficient today,” Akins said.
Akins ended the Spartans’ shooting drought with a deep three-pointer to beat the shot clock and take a 54-51 lead with seven minutes remaining. That three-pointer ignited the Spartans to close the game strong, outscoring the Lobos 20-12 down the stretch to seal the victory.
Spartans’ sophomore forward Coen Carr has played with tons of energy in the tournament. Carr was given the nod to begin the second half and made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor with his shot-blocking and aggressiveness when attacking the rim.
“You never know when we’re going to do something different than we’ve done all season, so you just have to stay ready,” Carr said.
Led by Spartans redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr., the Spartans had a significant advantage at the free throw line, taking 18 more attempts from the charity stripe.
The Spartans will continue their March Madness run against No. 6-seed Ole Miss in the Sweet Sixteen.
