Michigan State basketball wore down Indiana after a slow start, eventually beating the Hoosiers, 81-60, at the Breslin Center.
EAST LANSING – If Darian DeVries’ goal was to make Jeremy Fears Jr. beat Indiana, the Michigan State basketball point guard gladly accepted it. And found a number of ways to respond to the challenge.
First by scoring, with 19 points in the first half and a masterclass in defensive intensity.
Then by setting up his teammates, turning back into assist mode while providing even more intensity to shut the Hoosiers down.
No. 12 MSU used a 19-0 run in the second half and held Indiana (12-5, 3-3) scoreless for 6 minutes and 47 seconds en route to an 81-60 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at Breslin Center.
Fears finished with a career high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with 10 assists for the Spartans (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten), who closed a perfect three-game homestand after their first league loss at Nebraska on Jan. 2. Jaxon Kohler added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Kur Teng and Jordan Scott each scored 11 points.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points for Indiana, including five of his team’s 3-pointers. However, the Spartans held the Hoosiers to just 10-for-31 from deep and crushed them on the boards, 37-19. MSU also set the tempo with a 25-12 fastbreak advantage.
Self-made Fears
From the outset, it was clear the Hoosiers were going to let Fears prove he could beat them. The ploy worked for 10 minutes, with Indiana getting off to a stronger start than the third-year sophomore point guard.
Almost singlehandedly, Fears kept MSU afloat with all 10 of his team’s points before the midpoint of the half. The Hoosiers used an 11-2 run, with a 3-pointer from Wilkerson giving them a 17-10 lead at 11:16, before any other Spartan scored.
But that bucket from Kohler, a trailing 3-pointer off a dish from Fears, helped propel the Spartans toward a strong finish over the final 10:09. And MSU’s defense, with Fears spearheading it, sparked the turnaround.
His steal at midcourt led to a layup after Kohler’s bucket and prompted Indiana coach Darian DeVries to call timeout. Then out of a media timeout, Fears again plucked a steal and raced to a two-handed breakaway dunk. He then converted a three-point play off a runner across the lane through contact. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Fears was 6-for-8 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line at the break as the Spartans used a 26-10 run to build a 39-32 halftime lead.
Fresh faces
The Spartans struggled to stop the Hoosiers from outside at the outset of the second half, with Wilkerson draining three of their four early 3-pointers. His third at the 13:11 mark tied the Spartans, 51-51, and came as part of a 13-4 Indiana run over a 4-plus minute stretch.
That’s when MSU’s two freshmen started to assert themselves and show their growth.
Forward Cam Ward scored through a foul just before Wilkerson’s 3 that tied it. Then Wilkerson’s steal and dunk off a Fears turnover with 11:19 remaining tied the game at 53-all. It would be the Hoosiers’ last bucket until Tucker DeVries scored with 4:32 to play.
Ward and Scott had eight of the first 10 points of MSU’s knockout run. After Divine Ugochukwu sliced through the Indiana defense for a layup to start the 19-point burst, Scott curled off a screen and hit a free-throw line jumper. Then Ward delivered a deflection on defense and hustled back down on offense, taking another Fears feed and finishing in traffic through another foul for a three-point play.
On the Hoosiers’ next possession, Ward’s positional defense forced a turnover and a steal by Kohler. Fears pushed the pace for a thunderous Coen Carr dunk that forced an Indiana timeout. After another defensive stop, Scott drilled a 3-pointer from a Fears assist, then Fears drove and scored in transition for another Hoosiers timeout and MSU’s 12th straight point.
Scott had eight second-half points on 3-for-3 shooting, including his two 3s, while Ward had all of his five points and three rebounds after halftime. Seven of Fears’ assists came in the second half, and he broke his personal best set earlier this year against Cornell with a full-court, driving layup with 3:05 to play that again prompted DeVries to call timeout as the Spartans’ lead swelled to 24.
What’s next
The Spartans make their second West Coast trip since the Big Ten grew to 18 teams and their first road visits in league play to Washington (10-6, 2-3) and Oregon (8-8, 1-4). MSU opens against the Huskies at 6 p.m. ET Saturday in Seattle (Big Ten Network), then heads south to Eugene, Oregon, to face the Ducks at 9 p.m. ET next Tuesday (FS1). Washington hosts No. 3 Michigan on Wednesday, while Oregon played at No. 10 Nebraska late Tuesday night.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball score in win vs Indiana as Fears goes off
Category: General Sports
