Michigan State Edged by Penn State, 75-70

Michigan State took a three-point lead late in the game, but could not hold on as Penn State pulled out a 75-70 win in a Big Ten Conference men's basketball game at the Breslin Center Tuesday night.

Senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 25 points and had nine assists to lead the Michigan State, while junior forward forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) added nine points, 11 rebounds, two assists and five blocked shots.

Records
Michigan State loses its second-straight game and falls to 16-7 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, while Penn State improves to 17-6 overall and 7-4 in the league.

Summary

The Spartans took a 66-63 lead on a 3-pointer from Winston with 5:29 to play, but a jumper from Lamar Stevens gave Penn State a 67-66 lead.
One free throw apiece from Stevens and another from John Harrar gave PSU a 69-66 lead before sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) hit a jumper to cut the lead to one.
Winston hit a layup and was fouled with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-70, but his free throw was off the mark and Stevens hit two free throws with nine seconds left and Curtis Jones hit two more with less than a second left to seal the win.
The Spartans had trailed by six (43-37) at the break, fell behind by 10 early in the second half and rallied to tie the game with just under 13 minutes left.
There were four ties and four lead changes in the final minutes as Penn State took a six-point lead (61-55), only to see MSU race back to take a three-point edge (66-63).
Leading 55-53 after a basket from freshman guard Rocket Watts (Detroit, Mich./SPIRE Academy [Ohio]), Penn State used an 8-0 burst to take a 61-55 lead on a 3-pointer from Curtis Jones
Michigan State trailed by six points at the half, 43-37, after turning the ball over nine times and Penn State took advantage, scoring 16 points off of those.
The Spartans had taken an early 12-4 lead after a jumper from Henry, but Penn State took a 15-13 lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Myreon Jones.
MSU used a 6-1 run to take a 19-16 lead on a layup from freshman forward Julius Marble (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit), but Penn State responded with a 15-2 run and took a 31-21 lead on a 3-pointer from Jones at the 5:14 mark.
A jumper from Watts pulled the Spartans to within 31-28 before the Nittany Lions went into the break and the six-point lead.

Key Stats

Michigan State committed 15 turnovers and Penn State scored 21 points off those turnovers.
Michigan State out-rebounded Penn State, 36-34, bur the Nittany Lions collected 11 offensive rebounds and had 15 second-chance points.
Penn State hit nine 3-pointers, including seven in the first half.

Notes

Michigan State now leads the head-to-head series with Penn State, 39-9.
This was Penn State's first win at the Breslin Center since Feb. 1, 2009 … MSU had won the last seven games played at home.
The Spartans are now 23-2 all-time at home against Penn State, including a 20-1 record at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State is now 15-2 when scoring at least 70 points.
Winston scored a game-high 25 points, his 12th game this season with at least 20 points and the 35th of his career.
He now has 1,819 career points and needs 33 points to pass Sam Vincent (1981-85) for seventh place.
Winston has scored in double figures 19 times this season and led MSU in scoring 17 times this season.
Winston handed out nine assists, increasing his MSU and Big Ten all-time lead in that category to 843.
Tillman grabbed 11 rebounds, his 14th game this season with at least 10 rebounds.
Tillman also handed out five assists, the 10th time this season he has had at least four and the eighth time in the last 10 games.

Up Next
Michigan State hits the road this weekend, playing at in-state rival Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff at the Crisler Center Center is slated for noon on FOX, with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Lisa Byington calling all of the action.

Next Event

Team Stats

Cassius Winston

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Gabe Brown

Rocket Watts

Players Mentioned

Aaron Henry

Julius Marble II

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Rocket Watts

Cassius Winston

Players Mentioned

Aaron Henry

Julius Marble II

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Rocket Watts

Cassius Winston