Spartan Hoops Courtside: Clutch Plays Lift MSU

Jan. 14, 2010

EAST LANSING, Mich. - In a game where shots were at a premium, it was the defense - once again - that led Michigan State to a physical 60-53 victory over Minnesota Wednesday night at the Breslin Center.

And right in the middle when it mattered most was Draymond Green.

Following two crucial jumpers by Chris Allen that gave MSU a 56-51 lead with 90 seconds remaining, Green did what he does best - make critical plays that help the team win.

First, he dove in front of an entry pass to Minnesota forward Damian Johnson and came away with the steal, forcing a turnover at the hands of Gopher leading-scorer Lawrence Westbrook. It was Green's fourth swipe of the game, the second most of his career. The Saginaw sophomore was then fouled and dropped to the ground, but before heading to the line, he was quickly embraced by Kalin Lucas with the crowd on its feet in adulation.

However, Green proceeded to miss the front end of a one-and-one that could've given the Spartans a seven-point cushion. No matter.

He went back on the defensive side of the court and emphatically blocked Al Nolen's running jumper in the lane, recovered the ball for the rebound, and scooped the ball to Lucas, who would go on to make both free throws and put the game out of reach for Minnesota.

It was a telling sequence by a player that always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

"Draymond's growing up, because he didn't get frustrated by the missed free throw," Spartan head coach Tom Izzo said after the game. "I've got a couple of other guys that would've had their heads down. But he didn't, and went down and made a big time play. I think that is a big difference (in him) from last year to this year.

"I can watch right in front of my eyes him growing every game. He definitely is. He did a lot of good things tonight when it was frustrating. It was not an easy game to play in."

"I take a lot of pride in it (defense) because my shots weren't falling today," said Green, as the Spartans shot a season-low 36 percent from the field. "I missed free throws, jump shots, a couple of easy ones. They weren't falling, so I had to do something else to help this team win. Some nights, all of them are going to fall, some games some will fall, and tonight, none of them fell.

"So I had to do something to help the team out, and coming at that part in the game, defense was going to win the game. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team win. Coming up with big defensive stops was going to help us win, and that's what I did."

Forgive Green for his memory, but he did provide a few offensive highlights. Early in the second half, he performed his best Kalin Lucas impersonation as he drove through the lane, dipped under his defender, and banked in a shot while falling on the hardwood. Green also had a dunk in the first half and even drew Westbrook's second foul by taking a charge.

"Defense fires us up as a team," said Green, who finished with eight points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks. "If one guy is getting down (on the floor) giving everything he's got, it's telling you, `I can't let him down, I got to give it everything I've got.' It trickles down to everyone."

With Green leading the way, the Spartans held their opponent to a season low in points for the second straight home game. After Wisconsin was limited to 47 points last week, the Gophers - who were averaging more than 78.9 points a game - scored just 53.

The defensive effort was not lost on Izzo, who figured it to be another close, hard-fought Big Ten game.

"To be honest with you, that game went just how I expected it to go," said Izzo, who won his 350th career game as a head coach and has MSU at 4-0 in Big Ten play for the second straight year. "I knew it was going to be a knock-down, drag out game, and it started that way early."

It certainly did.

In the first half, freshman center Derrick Nix took an elbow to the chin by Colton Iverson and was knocked to the floor. After spending a few moments on the ground, Nix left the court on his own and later returned to the game.

At that point, MSU was clinging to a one-point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Minnesota was playing right with the No. 7 Spartans, and wasn't going anywhere.

But the play, which symbolized the physicality between the two teams throughout the night, also seemed to ignite the Spartans, as they closed the half on a 13-4 run.

After a Minnesota basket that made it 21-20 in favor of the Gophers - in which would be their last lead of the night - Durrell Summers scored five straight points, including a thunderous alley-oop jam from Lucas that gave MSU the lead for good.

Less than a minute later, Summers extended the Spartan advantage on an incredibly athletic play, blocking a 3-point attempt by Blake Hoffarber and then taking it all the way to the basket for a layup, even though he was intentionally fouled.

"There's a certain thing he (Hoffarber) does when he shoots - he kind of kicks his feet - but if he would've up-faked, he would've had me," Summers said. "I just anticipated it. I thought he was going to shoot. So I jumped as soon as he did, and I blocked it. I think it was a big play."

Summers, who had only scored three points in the previous two games, poured in 12 in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting. He ended with 13 points and eight rebounds.

MSU led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but the Gophers continued to battle. Lucas' 3-pointer at the 11:11 mark made it 48-38 Spartans, and Michigan State seemed in prime position to remain undefeated in the Big Ten. However, for the next seven minutes, MSU was held to one field goal and its margin shrunk to two points at 51-49.

Enter Chris Allen. Although he missed his first seven shots of the game, Allen connected on a clutch 3-pointer with 4:10 left to end the Spartan drought. The junior guard then hit a running floater in the lane with the shot clock ticking down to make it 56-51.

It was just enough offense before Green proved that defense is the key to winning championships.