MSU Basketball Handled Valencia All-Stars in Second Exhibition Game of Spain Trip
![Michigan State's Coen Carr dunks against Maryland during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Michigan State's Coen Carr dunks against Maryland during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1704,h_958,x_0,y_357/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/spartan_nation/01j5p2fnvhabw40wyvmg.jpg)
Michigan State men's basketball is making the most of its trip to Spain.
A trip consisting of a blend of sight-seeing, team bonding and competition is preparing Tom Izzo's squad for its 2024-25 campaign, one it will be hoping entails much more success than the program has had in recent years.
On Saturday, Michigan State handled the Valencia All-Stars 105-59 to close out the Valencia portion of its trip.
Spartan forward Coen Carr led the way with 20 points and five boards, while guard Jaden Akins and transfer wing Frankie Fidler each posted 11 points. Akins added five rebounds.
The big men got in on the scoring action as well, as forward Jaxon Kohler and transfer center Szymon Zapala each recorded 10 points in the victory.
"It was a strange game," Izzo said after the contest. "We thought it would be a tougher game than the last one. I don't know if we played better or they played worse. But we had times in this game we played awfully well. We had times where we looked kind of rag tag. But that's what happens when you're trying to play 13, 14 players. It's not the way it's going to be.
"But we had some bright spots. Jaden [Akins] bounced back after a struggle, Jeremy's [Fears Jr.] been solid as anybody -- him and Coen Carr. And Book [Xavier Booker] didn't get the shots, didn't play as many minutes. We were trying to even out the minutes. In the last game, we'll play it more for real for real. So, we'll see what happens. But all in all, this has been really good for us."
That last game will be on Tuesday in Barcelona.
Th Spartans victory over the Valencia All-Stars followed a 94-87 win over the Madrid All-Stars on Thursday.
Michigan State is currently on Day 6 of its 10-day trip. It will wrap up the third and final stretch of its trip in Barcelona.
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