Jeremy Fears Jr. takes over in OT for Michigan State basketball

EAST LANSING — Jeremy Fears Jr. converted a three-point play with 1:47 remaining in overtime to give No. 10 Michigan State basketball a lead it wouldn't relinquish in a come-from-behind 85-82 victory over No. 6 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 7.

The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Spartans and featured another stellar performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who led the Spartans with 26 points (including 11 in the extra period) and 15 assists – the third-most helpers by an MSU player in program history, behind only Mateen Cleaves' 20 in 2000, Gary Ganakas' 17 in 1972 and his own 17 last month against Maryland.

Jaxon Kohler had 11 points and 15 rebounds, freshman Jordan Scott added 10 points and three rebounds before fouling out and Kur Teng added 10 points for the Spartans.

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Back and forth to finish regulation

Teng hit a 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds remaining to give the Spartans a two-point lead, 71-69, roughly 100 seconds after Scott's pair of free throws had given the Spartans their first lead of the second half.

But Illinois tied it with 1 second left when Illinois' Jake Davis was fouled; he calmly hit both shots. MSU had a shot at the win as time expired, with Fears finding Carson Cooper at the arc on a ¾-court pass, but Cooper's shot clanged off the back of the rim.

Where does MSU sit in the Big Ten race?

With the win, the Spartans (20-4) improved to 10-3 in Big Ten play and sit 1½ games back of Michigan, which plays Sunday at Ohio State; MSU dropped Illinois out of a share of first place in the conference; the Spartans are in fourth place, half a game behind 10-2 Nebraska, which beat Rutgers on Saturday, and a half game ahead of 9-3 Purdue. The top four in league play qualify for a double-bye in next month’s Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

More controversy for Jeremy Fears Jr.

After spending the week debating whether to sit Fears, coach Tom Izzo stuck with the third-year sophomore for most of the first half. Fears played 19 minutes before halftime –likely spurred by the season-ending injury to Divine Ugochukwu in MSU’s loss to Minnesota on Wednesday – and put up four points on 2-for-6 shooting (including misses on both 3-point tries) and adding eight assists.

Fears also continued to add to the controversy over whether he is a dirty player, as Illinois challenged the lack of a call on what appeared to be a trip by Fears of Illinois' Davi Mirkovic. Leading the fastbreak, Fears fired a pass to Jaxon Kohler in the left corner from the 3-point arc, landing at the line with his legs spread wide. Mirkovic went sprawling over Fears’ left leg, but play continued and Kohler hit a 3. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called timeout to challenge the lack of a foul call. But refs, after reviewing the play, ruled there was no foul.

A tight first half

Neither team was able to pull away over the first 20 minutes, with Illinois’ largest lead of six points, a little more than 15 minutes in, negated by back-to-back 3-ponters by Trey Fort and Kohler. Kohler had a strong half, leading the Spartans with eight points and five rebounds. That included two 3s on four tries. His teammates, however, struggled from beyond the arc, making just two of nine tries from deep; Kur Teng was the only other Spartan with a made 3, in three attempts.

Dunk you very much

With less than a minute left in the first half, Fears set up one of the highlights of the season. Running upcourt on the fastbreak, Fears fired a lob to the right side of the rim from 30 feet out; Coen Carr then ran under it from the left, caught it mid-air, ducked his head to avoid hitting the rim and slammed it home while facing away from the net to make it 37-35 Illinois with 50 seconds remaining.

Next up for Michigan State

The Spartans have most of the week off before another prime-time showcase, this one in Madison against Wisconsin, which fell to Indiana in overtime on Saturday. The Badgers will be tested first, as they face the Illini on the road on Tuesday before hosting the Spartans on Friday (8 p.m., Fox).

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball finds shot late to upset Illinois at home