No. 8 Michigan State survives late surge against Rutgers Basketball
Rutgers Basketball nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback against No. 8 Michigan State, but ultimately fell 91-87 to remain winless (0-9) at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State (25-5, 15-4 Big Ten) led by as much as 19 points with 5:48 remaining in the second half, but the Scarlet Knights (12-18, 5-14 Big Ten) showed life as the game wore down and hit nine straight field goals to cut its deficit to 89-87 with 3.3 seconds remaining.
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It was too little too late though as the Spartans hung on for their fifth straight win.
Michigan State opened the second half strong with a 7-0 run to take a 38-30 lead with 18:20 remaining. The Spartans continued pushing the pace and made it a 46-35 game with 15:33 left following four straight slam dunks.
Tariq Francis led the way for Rutgers, who shot 48 percent (31-for-65) from the field, with 25 points and five assists, while Emanuel Ogbole added 13 points and six rebounds, despite being limited to 20 minutes with foul trouble.
Lino Mark contributed 14 points and four assists, while Kaden Powers had 11 points.
Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 21 points apiece for Michigan State, with Fears contributing eight assists and passing Magic Johnson for third place on the all-time Michigan State assists list. Carr added six rebounds.
Jaxon Kohler finished with 15 points for the Spartans, who shot 58 percent (31-for-53) from the floor, while Carson Cooper had 14 points and six rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights were nearly doubled on the boards, with Michigan State pulling down 38 rebounds while Rutgers had 21.
It was an even first half as Michigan State led 31-30 at halftime, with neither side ahead by more than four points.
The Scarlet Knights played stingy defense, forcing 10 turnovers, but struggled to capitalize, turning those turnovers into just eight points.
Francis led the way for the Scarlet Knights with 10 points, while Mark had seven. Rutgers shot 43 percent (12-for-28) from the field.
Rutgers outdid Michigan State from the 3-point line, shooting 4-for-7, including two from Francis, and held the Spartans to just 1-of-5 from three.
Michigan State hung around thanks to the free-throw line, going 8-for-9, while Rutgers was 2-for-2.
Carr led Michigan State with eight points, while Ward had seven. Cooper and Fears added six points. The Spartans shot 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field.
Up next: Rutgers will wrap up the regular season against Penn State at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday at 8 p.m. (ET).
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