No. 18 Michigan State Finishes Strong, Defeats Ohio State 69-62 on the Road
No. 18 Michigan State found itself in jeopardy of taking its first conference loss of the season when it blew a 14-point lead late in the second half of its road meeting with Ohio State on Friday night.
The Spartans had separated themselves after a hard-fought first half, but the Buckeyes were resilient and made it clear they had no intentions of having their first game of the new year be spoiled on their home court.
But ultimately, that's what happened.
Michigan State would regroup down the stretch and ultimately bested Ohio State, 69-62, securing its 12th win of the season and seventh in a row.
The visitors were led by three Spartans who finished in double figures in scoring, including senior center Szymon Zapala, who posted a game-high 15 points. Senior guard Jaden Akins was close behind with 14, and sophomore forward Coen Carr added 11 off the bench.
Michigan State couldn't buy a bucket from deep in the first half, going 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. It would have to rely on scoring in the post, where fortunately for the Spartans, they were able to find success, scoring 20 of their 37 first-half points in the paint.
The turnover woes followed Michigan State from its last outing against Western Michigan, as the Spartans committed nine in the first half.
Michigan State led by just 2 with just under 2-and-a-half minutes to go before halftime, but a 6-0 run to finish the half would give the Spartans a promising 8-point advantage at the break.
They immediately were able to build on that lead out of the locker room, as Zapala put together 6 straight points to add to his bucket that came just before halftime.
Ohio State would eventually begin to storm back, led by the efforts of junior guard Bruce Thornton, who scored 6 consecutive points as part of a 21-6 Buckeye run that gave them their first lead since the 17:29 mark of the first half.
But Michigan State responded with a run of its own, scoring 8 unanswered points to go back up 7.
Ohio State continued to battle, though, as fifth-year guard Micah Parrish scored 5 straight points, including a triple that would make it a one-possession game with just over 5 minutes to go.
The veteran guard continued to keep his team in the game, as he would rain another 3-pointer after the Spartans went back up by 6. It was just a 3-point contest with 3 minutes remaining.
Then Akins, being the senior leader he is, drove to the basket to give the Michigan State a two-possession lead with just over 2-and-a-half minutes left.
The Spartans would end their night at the charity stripe, as their final 6 points were scored off of fouls.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler was able to give Michigan State a comfortable 6-point lead with just over a minute-and-a-half to go, and from there, the Spartans held on for the road victory. Kohler finished the game with 8 points and was once again the team-leader in rebounds, having grabbed 10 boards in the win.
Michigan State is now 3-0 in Big Ten play and will return home to face Washington on Thursday.
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