Michigan State University
Northwestern
Michigan State Jumps Out Early, Beats Northwestern 61-52
12/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Alvin Ellis III scored 16 points, Cassius Winston had 15 and Nick Ward added 11 as Michigan State made the most of a fast start in a 61-52 win over Northwestern on Friday night.
It was the third win in a row for the Spartans (10-5, 2-0 Big Ten), who led 28-9 in the first half before Northwestern (12-3, 1-1) got going. The Wildcats finished the half on a 20-8 run to pull to 36-29 at the break.
Sanjay Lumpkin's 3-pointer early in the second half cut the Spartans' lead to four, 36-32. Michigan State led 48-44 with 11:29 left and the Wildcats didn't get closer.
Michigan State shot 42.9 percent from the floor (21 of 49), while hitting just 4 of 17 3-point tries.
Vic Law had 16 points and nine rebounds while Scottie Lindsey added 11 points for the Wildcats (12-3, 1-1), who went cold down the stretch and shot just 35.8 percent (19 of 53) from the floor.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan State: Tom Izzo, who is third on the all-time list of Big Ten wins, is 19-3 in Big Ten home openers, including 14 wins in the last 15 years.
UP NEXT
Michigan State is home against Rutgers on Jan. 4. The Spartans will face a Rutgers team playing on two days' rest. Rutgers is home against Penn State on Sunday.
