Late Rally Falls Short as Michigan State Loses to Purdue, 75-70, in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

Indianapolis, Ind.. – Michigan State trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half and cut the lead down to one point with less than six minutes left before Purdue used a late run to pull away for a 75-70 win over the Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Sophomore guard A.J. Hoggard led the way for the Spartans with a double-double, scoring 17 points and handing out 10 assists, while senior forward Gabe Brown added 16 points and four rebounds.

Records
Michigan State falls to 22-12 overall, while Purdue improves to 27-6.

Recap

Trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half and without starting point guard Tyson Walker, who suffered a sprained ankle in the first half, the Spartans chipped away at Purdue's lead.
Purdue came out of the break and extended its lead to 12 points, 34-22, on a 3-pointer from Ivey early in the second half.
The Boilermakers took a 41-28 lead at the 16:32 mark on a 3-pointer from Sasha Stefanovic and still led by 13, 43-30, on a jumper from Trevion Williams with 14:37 left.
Baskets from freshman guards Jaden Akins and Max Christie cut the lead to seven points, 43-36, and a 3-pointer from Christie pulled MSU to within six points, 45-39, with 13:00 on the clock.
Junior forwards Malik Hall and Julius Marble hit back-to-back baskets and MSU was within 49-47 with 9:30 to play.
After free throws from Mason Gillis gave Purdue a 54-49 lead with 7:31 remaining, Hoggard scored on a driving layup, Brown hit a 3-pointer and Hoggard scored on a jumper with 5:45 left to make it 57-56.
Purdue responded with a 9-0 run, started by a pair of 3-pointers from Eric Hunter Jr. and capped off by a Hunter jumper, as the lead grew to 66-56 with 3:31 left.
MSU would get within six points, 74-68, on a 3-pointer from Christie with 21 seconds left but would get no closer.
Purdue went into the break with a 27-20 lead, using a 12-1 run over five minutes to take a 25-14 lead on a layup from Edey with 5:10 to play.
A driving layup from Hoggard and a dunk from Mady Sissoko pulled MSU to within 27-20 in the final minute and the Spartans had a chance to cut it closer but could not connect.

Key Stats

Michigan State shot 43.5 percent from the floor (30-of-69), but hit just 30.0 percent (9-of-30) in the first half.
Purdue scored 22 second-chance points.
The Boilermakers connected on 17-of-25 free throws.

Up Next
Michigan State awaits the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, March 13.

Next Event

Team Stats

A.J. Hoggard

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

A.J. Hoggard

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker