Michigan State rebounds against Washington
The number two ranked Michigan State Spartans held off the no. 11 ranked Washington Huskies 76-71 to finish in third place in the Maui Invitational Tournament, in Hawaii.
Michigan State leading statistics
Spartans senior guard Kalin Lucas led the charge in the second half after Michigan State found itself in a 10-point deficit after the first half.
Lucas had 31 minutes on the floor and accumulated 29 points, but none were bigger than the free throws he made in the dying seconds of the game to seal the victory for the Spartans. The senior had also hurt
his knee a few minutes earlier, adding to all the distractions he felt while standing on the free throw line.
"I dove for a loose ball and they kind of hit me on my knee," Lucas said according to espn.go.com. "My knee's fine. I really don't know what I did to it. It kind of hurt a little bit, the doctors looked
at it, but I'm fine."
It was Lucas’ fifth game in a row where he played in 26 or more minutes and the senior is averaging 18 points per game to start the year.
Forward Draymond Green and guard Durrell Summers were key assistants in the victory for the Spartans as well, as they both added 12 points of their own in the win.
Green came off the bench and played 27 minutes and grabbed six rebounds, four of them off the offensive glass.
Summers started the game playing 27 minutes as well and scooped up four rebounds but only hit 2-7 three-pointers. However, the two three-pointers he did hit were back-to-back and put the Spartans up 72-68
with just over a minute left.
Washington leading statistics
The Huskies shot extremely well in the first half as they had the lead going into the break, but their defence faltered down the stretch of the second half, unable to gather in the rebounds or getting the important stops to prevent the Spartans from
gathering more momentum.
Junior guard Isaiah Thomas led the way with 35 minutes played and 13 points scored. He finished the game making only four of 11 shots and four of seven free throws. He has scored 13 or more points in his
past three games and is averaging 14 points per game over the first five games of the season.
Senior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning led the way for the Huskies in points with 15 during his 24 minutes on the hardwood. He reeled in six rebounds with three off the offensive glass and pitched in with
two steals.
Thoughts
"It was good to come out and get a win like that, especially after the loss we took last night," said Spartans Green, according to espn.go.com, referring to the 70-67 loss they suffered to UCONN.
"We're obviously very, very disappointed," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said to espn.go.com. "We had a lot of high hopes coming into the tournament and we're leaving 1-2."
What’s next?
Michigan State’s next game will be at home against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on 28 November.
The Huskies will also be at home for their next game which comes on 30 November against the Long Beach State 49ers.
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