EAST LANSING– Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 11 of the Spartans’ 14 points in overtime to outlast No. 5 Illinois in an overtime thriller, 85-82.
The win over No. 5 Illinois is the first win against an AP top-five team for the Spartans’ senior class.
“That just shows you the resilient effort that we show is what speaks volumes for us,” MSU senior center Carson Cooper said. “It would be easy to come in and lie down and accept the loss, accept that they’re the better team, but we didn’t do that and we continue to get better.”
Fears Jr. was not benched to start the game, which was a possibility as a consequence for his antics in previous games. In fact, he played a career-high 42 minutes in a 26-point, 15-assist performance.
“Jeremy was phenomenal once we got him going downhill a little bit,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
Freshman Jordan Scott received his first start at the Breslin Center. Scott had the assignment of guarding Illinois star freshman Keaton Wagler.
Outside of his 12 attempts from the free-throw line, Wagler had a rough night. The front-runner for Big Ten Freshman of the Year shot 2-of-16 from the field and was hounded by Scott all night.
“What can you say about him, he’s got stitches in his eye, he made some big shots, made a couple big free throws, but his defense was unbelievable,” Izzo said.
Scott wasn’t the only MSU freshman to provide an impact. Forward Cam Ward played one of the best games of his career and had a game-high plus/minus of +15.
Ward’s coast-to-coast slam ignited the Izzone and got the Spartans rolling after a slow start.
“I felt like the energy changed after that and then everybody just kept the same energy going forward,” Ward said. “That’s just the team we are, once one thing happens, it’s just a chain effect, everything falls into place.”
With the loss of Divine Ugochukwu, sophomore guard Kur Teng found himself playing in crunch time and connected on a timely three-pointer to give the Spartans a two-point lead in the final seconds of regulation.
After a string of games without a presence on the boards, senior forward Jaxon Kohler led the game with 16 rebounds, including an offensive rebound to set up Teng.
The Spartans will have a few days off before they hit the road for a matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wis. on Friday, Feb. 13 at 8:00 p.m.
