Michigan State University
Penn St
No. 1 Michigan State Stops Penn State, 98-73
1/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2001
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Charlie Bell scored 26 points and Andre Hutson added 20 as No. 1 Michigan State beat Penn State 98-73 Wednesday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Spartans (12-0) used a 25-4 run midway through the second half to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 23 games and the best run at home to 37 games.
Penn State (9-2) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped with its seventh straight loss to Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions led by 11 at halftime and maintained the lead until Hutson made a steal and raced down court for a dunk with 11:08 left to give Michigan State a 60-59 lead.
That basket was in the middle of Michigan State's impressive burst, which began with it trailing 59-53 and ended with the Spartans leading 78-63 with 5:42 left.
Michigan State point guard Marcus Taylor returned from a 3 1/2 game absence, due to a broken finger, to score 11 points and allow Bell to play shooting guard for extended minutes. Jason Richardson added 10 points.
Penn State's Titus Ivory scored 22 points. Joe Crispin, the Big Ten's leading scorer, scored 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Gyasi Cline-Heard added 16 points.
Michigan State shot 78.6 percent in the second half while limiting the Nittany Lions to 21.4-percent shooting over the last 20 minutes
Penn State was in command of the game in the first half.
The Nittany Lions outhustled the Spartans in the first half and shot 55.2 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Michigan State went on a 9-0 run midway through the half for a 27-22 lead.
Penn State responded with a 21-4 burst to take a 43-31 lead. The Nittany Lions 48-37 at halftime.
Michigan State made just 11-of-22 free throws in the first half.
The Spartans opened the second half with an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to five, but didn't put Penn State away until its stunning run midway through the second half.
The last time Penn State played a No. 1 team was in 1993 when it lost 88-84 to Indiana in double-overtime.
