Bingham’s Alley-Oop Lifts Michigan State Past Loyola Chicago, 63-61

Paradise Island, Bahamas – Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) took a feed from junior guard Tyson Walker (Westbury, N.Y./Christ the King/Northeastern) for an alley-oop with 4 seconds left, lifting Michigan State to a thrilling 63-61 win over Loyola Chicago in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

Junior forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) scored a career-high 24 points, including hitting 9-of-9 field goals, and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Spartans, while Bingham finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots. Senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) chipped in with nine points, while Walker added eight points and four assists.

Recap

The Spartans trailed at the break by five points (28-23) and feel behind by nine points (32-23) before rallying to take the lead and send it to its thrilling finish.
Backed by the play of Hall, the Spartans used a 16-5 run and took the lead for the first time since the first half on a driving layup and free throw from the junior captain with 12:55 to go, giving MSU a 39-37 lead.
That was the first of five lead changes in a second half that also featured three ties.
Twice MSU went ahead by four points, first at 44-40 on a pair of free throws from redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point/Marquette) and then at 47-43 on a 3-pointer from Walker.
The Ramblers took the lead back twice, the last on a layup from Lucas Williamson with 3:41 left.
Tied at 58-all, Hall hit a 3-pointer with 1:37 to give MSU the lead, but Braden Norris of Loyola Chicago countered with his own with 1:20 left to tie the game at 61-all.
After a timeout, Walker fed Bingham Jr. for the alley-oop and a 3-pointer from Norris at halfcourt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Loyola Chicago took a 32-23 lead early in the second half.
Michigan State went into the half trailing 28-23, having been out-scored 28-14 in the final 13:25 of the half, with the Ramblers scoring 10 points off 14 first half turnovers.
Michigan State had jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes, with baskets from Christie, Bingham, a 3-pointer from Walker and free throws from Hall giving the Spartans the early advantage.
Loyola Chicago began to chip away and the MSU turnovers began to mount – with nine in a span of 4:32 at one point – and the Ramblers took an 18-17 lead on a 3-pointer from Keith Clemens with 6:36 to play.
A jumper from junior forward Julius Marble (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) gave MSU a 19-18 lead, but Loyola responded with a 10-0 run took a 28-19 lead on a 3-pointer from Lucas Williamson with 1:24 to play, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout.
Baskets from Hall and Bingham in the final minute cut the lead to five points, 28-23.

Key Stats

Michigan State turned the ball over 20 times, but just six times in the second half.
The Spartans shot 56.0 percent from the floor in the second half (14-of-25), including 71.4 percent from 3-point land (5-of-7).
MSU had a 36-34 advantage on the boards, including 18-14 in the second half.
The Spartans hit 81.8 percent (9-of-11) of their free throws.
MSU held Loyola Chicago to 37.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Notes

By facing Loyola Chicago Head Coach Drew Valentine, this was the second-straight game MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo won a game against a former member of his coaching staff (the Spartans beat Eastern Michigan with former assistant Stan Heath now as their head coach).
Michigan State now leads the all-time series with Loyola Chicago, 11-2, and has won the last six meetings.
The Spartans are now 3-1 all-time in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Junior forward Malik Hall scored a career-high 24 points, his first game with at least 20 points in his career, going 9-of-9 from the field.
It was his second game in double figures this year and the 10th of his career.
Senior forward Marcus Bingham had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Bingham has scored in double figures five times this year and eight times in his career.
His seven blocked shots are a career-high.
The seven blocked shots are the second-most in a single game in Michigan State history.

Up Next
Michigan State plays the winner of the game between Auburn and UConn on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. The game will tip at noon and air on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Malik Hall

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Tyson Walker

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Tyson Walker