No. 12 Michigan State Holds Off Penn State, 90-85, to Win 10th Straight

No. 12 Michigan State once again got away from a strong first-half showing but was able to come away with a 90-85 home victory over Penn State.
Jan 15, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA;  Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman (5) steals the ball from Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images
Jan 15, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman (5) steals the ball from Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images / Dale Young-Imagn Images

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- It was an old-fashioned, scrappy Big Ten battle in the Breslin Center on Wednesday night, one that came down to the final minute.

But No. 12 Michigan State persevered, overcoming a second-half comeback attempt by Penn State, ultimately besting the Nittany Lions, 90-85, to improve its record to 15-2, its home record to 9-0 and its Big Ten record to 6-0.

Once again, the Spartans were outplayed in the second half after having a sizable lead at halftime.

The key performances for Michigan State were those of senior forward Frankie Fidler, who led the team with a season-high 18 points while adding seven rebounds, senior guard Jaden Akins, who finished with 16 points and six boards, junior guard Tre Holloman, who posted 10 points and six assists and redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who ended up with 8 points and seven assists.

Michigan State jumped out to an 8-2 start that included triples from junior guard Tre Holloman and junior forward Jaxon Kohler.

The Spartans would extend that hot start with a third bucket from beyond the arc, this time from senior guard Jaden Akins, which had come off an offensive rebound from junior center Carson Cooper. That gave Michigan State an 11-4 edge with less than 4 minutes gone in the contest.

Less than a minute later, Penn State would eventually come to within 2, the closest would get the whole first half.

But Carr would immediately answer with a baseline slam while drawing a foul. He would make the free to convert the and-1.

Carr led the Spartans in scoring in the first half with 9 points.

About a minute-and-a-half later, Michigan State converted another and-1, this time from freshman guard Jase Richardson, who stretched the Spartans' lead to 8, their largest of the game until that point.

Penn State would find itself in foul trouble, committing eight fouls in the first 8 minutes of the game. A pair of trips to the line from Spartan senior center Szymon Zapala contributed to a 6-0 run from the home team, which gave it an 11-point lead at the 8:17 mark of the half.

The Nittany Lions would then go on their own 6-0 run with a pair of made 3-pointers, but that was halted with a putback jam from Cooper.

Shortly after, Michigan State put together a 7-0 run to put it back up by 11.

The Spartans led by as many as 12 but would hold a 10-point edge at halftime.

Of Michigan State's 46 first-half points, 14 were second-chance and 19 were scored off turnovers. Penn State committed nine turnovers in the first half.

The Nittany Lions weren't going to back down, though, as they came out of the break with a 5-0 start and even trimmed the deficit to just 2 points/

But Michigan State weathered the storm, eventually going back up by 7 with a triple from Fidler. That would be foreshadowing of a stellar second half from the senior.

Penn State kept punching, though, cutting the Spartans' lead to 4 with 9:31 to go. But the momentum would then swing back in Michigan State's favor as sophomore forward Xavier Booker converted an and-1 to extend the lead back to 7. That was followed by a 3-pointer from Akins, which made it a 10-point lead with 8 minutes remaining.

The margin would be just 3 points with a bit over 3 minutes left, but from there, Fidler would put together 5 straight points, including a momentous converted and-1. That run capped off his big night and gave his team a -- seemingly -- comfortable lead.

The Nittany Lions quickly shaved the Spartans' advantage to 4 with just under a minute to go. But leave it to Akins to seal the deal, as the fourth-year Spartan responded with a converted and-1 to give the home team a 7-point edge with just under half a minute left.

Penn State answered with a triple, but it wasn't enough. Michigan State hung on to win, 90-85, once again having to finish down the stretch.

It did so despite the visitors shooting 65.2% from the field in the second half (66.7% from downtown).

The Spartans will stay home to host No. 19 Illinois on Sunday. Tip-off is set for noon.

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