Michigan State Outlasts Kentucky, 86-77, in a Double Overtime Thriller in the Champions Classic

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Junior forward Mady Sissoko scored seven of his 16 points in the second overtime period and Michigan State battled No. 4 Kentucky for an 86-77 win in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Graduate forward Joey Hauser scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead four players in double figures, while senior forward Malik Hall scored 20 points and had five rebounds, Sissoko finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists and senior guard Tyson Walker finished with 14 points and six assists.

Sophomore guard Jaden Akins chipped in seven points and seven rebounds and junior guard A.J. Hoggard added four points and a game-high nine assists.

Records
Michigan State improves to 2-1 overall while Kentucky falls to 2-1.

Recap

The Spartans trailed in regulation by three points, 61-58, with 2:17 to play, but a jumper from Hauser with 1:06 left cut the lead to 61-60.
After Kentucky's Cason Wallace hit 1-of-2 free throws with 15 seconds left, the Spartans called a timeout and Hoggard fed Hall for a driving dunk to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the first overtime period, the Wildcats scored the first five points and took a 67-62 lead on a 3-pointer from Sahvir Wheeler, but free throws from Hauser with 3:07 left and a 3-pointer on the right wing from Walker tied the game with 2:30 to play.
Kentucky led 70-67 with 1:23 left when Walker hit a jumper with 59 seconds left, narrowing the gap to one point.
The Spartans got the ball back with 30 seconds left and Walker's shot with nine seconds was off the mark, sending Wallace to the line, where he 1-of-2 with 7.6 seconds left.
After a timeout, Hall drove the lane for a dunk with 1.4 seconds left to tie it at 71-all, sending the game to a second extra period.
Kentucky scored five of the first seven points and took a 76-73 lead on a 3-pointer from Wallace, but it was all Michigan State in the final 4 minutes as the Spartans reeled off 13-straight points.
Most of the damage was done by Sissoko, who hit two free throws to make it 76-75, hit 1-of-2 to tie the game and then took a feed from Walker for an alleyoop with 1:45 left to give MSU the lead for good.
Walker followed with a pair of free throws to push the lead to 80-76 before feeding Sissoko again for another alleyoop, making it 82-76 with 30 seconds left.
Walker and Hall each hit a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to close out the scoring.
The Spartans led 36-34 at the break and took a 5-point lead after a jumper from Hall and a free throw from Sissoko, but the teams went back and forth over the next 20 minutes, with eight ties and eight lead changes before sending the game to overtime on Hall's dunk in the last moments of regulation.
In a first half featuring two ties and six lead changes, the Spartans scored the final five points and took a 36-34 lead on a 3-pointer from Hall with 29 seconds left.
The Wildcats had taken a 20-13 lead with 8:41 to play on a driving layup from Sahvir Wheeler, but MSU responded with an 8-0 run and took a 21-20 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Walker and Hauser.

Key Stats

Michigan State out-rebounded Kentucky, 45-38, had 16 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second-chance points.
The Spartans had four players score in double figures.
MSU finished the game shooting 85.2 percent from the free throw line (23-of-27), including 92.9 percent in the overtime periods (13-of-14).
While the Spartans finished the game with 18 turnovers, the team did not commit any in either overtime period, while Kentucky had five and MSU scored seven points off those.

Notes

This was the second double overtime win in the head-to-head series against Kentucky, the last a 94-88 win in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky leads the head-to-head series with Michigan State, 14-12 … The Spartans have won three of the last five games and five of the last eight overall.
This was MSU's first overtime win since beating Rutgers, 76-72, on Jan. 10, 2018 at home.
This was the team's first double overtime win since a win at Ohio State, 62-59, on Jan. 15, 2006.
Michigan State is now 5-7 all-time in Champions Classic play, including a 2-2 record against Kentucky.
Joey Hauser scored a game-high 23 points, his second time this year in double figures and the 24th of his career.
It was the fourth game of his career with at least 20 points.
Malik Hall scored 20 points, his second game in double figures this year and the 25th of his career.
This was his second career game with at least 20 points.
Mady Sissoko scored a career-high 16 points, his second career game in double figures.
Tyson Walker scored 14 points, his second game in double figures this year and the 48th of his career.
His 3-pointer to tie the game in the first overtime period moving him past the 1,000-point mark for his career … Walker now has 1,008 points in his career, including 680 during his first two years at Northeastern.
Jaden Akins tied his career-high with seven rebounds.
Hauser (46), Walker (46), Hall (42), Hoggard (35), Sissoko (33) and Akins (27) all set career-bests for minutes played.
Happy Birthday Dan.

Up Next
Michigan State returns back home to the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 18, hosting Villanova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The game will air live on FS1 (8 p.m.).

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Team Stats

Joey Hauser

Malik Hall

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker