Michigan State Falls to Baylor, 75-58, in Battle 4 Atlantis Championship

Paradise Island, Bahamas – Michigan State trailed by just two points at halftime, but No. 6 Baylor used an early run in the second half to break open a close game en route to a 75-58 win over the Spartans in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena on Friday afternoon.

Senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 13 points and had five rebounds to lead the Spartans, while freshman guard Jaden Akins (Farmington, Mich./Farmington Hills/Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) added 12 points and three rebounds off the bench.

Recap

The first half was hotly-contested with seven ties and six lead changes and MSU had a five-point lead (36-31) with five minutes left before going into the break down two points (38-36) after a late run from Baylor.
The Bears opened the second half with a 17-6 run over the first 6:03 and took a 55-42 lead on a 3-pointer from James Akinjo with 13:57 left to play.
Michigan State pulled to within 11 points twice in the final 10 minutes but could not get closer.
Michigan State led by five points (36-31) late in the first half, but the Bears scored the final seven points over the last 2:10 and went into the break with a 38-36 lead.
Baylor had taken an early lead (9-3), but the Spartans used an 11-2 run over 2:59 to take a 14-11 lead on a three-point from junior forward Julius Marble (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit).
From there, it was back and forth with seven ties and 11 lead changes over a 10-minute span until the Spartans scored six-straight points – a three-point play from Bingham and a free throw from Brown – to take a 36-31 lead with 2:27 to play.

Key Stats

Michigan State committed 19 turnovers and Baylor scored 22 points off turnovers.
Baylor out-scored Michigan State, 44-30, in the paint.
The Bears scored 16 second-chance points.
The Spartans shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the first half, but connected on just 36.8 percent of their second half shots (7-of-19).
Michigan State was out-rebounded, 32-31, including 21-13 in the second half.

Notes

Baylor leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 2-0. Both losses to the Bears have come in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
MSU has an all-time record of 4-2 in two trips to the Bahamas for the Battle for Atlantis.
The Spartans committed 19 turnovers; the fourth time this season with at least 15.
Gabe Brown scored in double figures for the sixth seventh time this season.
Freshman guard Jaden Akins scored a career-high 12 points.
Brown was selected to the All-Tournament team after averaging 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.

Up Next
Michigan State returns home and hosts Louisville on Wednesday, Dec. 1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game will air on ESPN at 7:15 p.m.

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Team Stats

Gabe Brown

Jaden Akins

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Joey Hauser

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Gabe Brown