Thursday, November 23
Palm Springs, Calif.
4 PM
Michigan State University
3-3,0-0Big Ten
68
vs
74
Arizona
6-0,0-0Pac-12
1
2
F
Michigan St.
30
38
68
Arizona
40
34
74
Michigan State Fights Back to Take Lead, but Falls Short against Arizona, 74-68
11/23/2023 6:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Palm Springs, Calif. – No. 21 Michigan State fought back from a 15-point deficit in the first half and took a 3-point lead late in the game, but could not hang on as No. 3 Arizona beat the Spartans, 74-68, in the Acrisure Classic at Acrisure Arena on Thanksgiving afternoon.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 18 points to lead the Spartans, while senior guard A.J. Hoggard finished 15 points and junior guard Jaden Akins added 12 points.
Records
Michigan State falls to 3-3 overall while Arizona improves to 6-0.
Recap
Michigan State returns home to play Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on BTN.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 18 points to lead the Spartans, while senior guard A.J. Hoggard finished 15 points and junior guard Jaden Akins added 12 points.
Records
Michigan State falls to 3-3 overall while Arizona improves to 6-0.
Recap
- Michigan State trailed by 10 points (40-30) at halftime and were still down by eight points, 61-53, with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
- That's when Hoggard spearheaded an 13-3 run over 2:57 and MSU took a 66-63 lead on a driving layup from the senior guard following a steal by freshman forward Coen Carr.
- A jumper from Walker started the run, Carr hit two free throws to cut the lead to one point and Hoggard scored nine of the team's 13 points.
- The Wildcats responded with 8-straight points and took a 71-66 lead on a jumper from Jaden Bradley with 1:23 left.
- The Spartans pulled to within 71-68 on free throws from Hoggard with 26 seconds left but Caleb Lewis hit a free throw with 24 seconds left and, after an MSU turnover, a dunk from KJ Lewis closed out the scoring.
- MSU struggled coming out of the gate in the first half but trailed by just five points, 12-7, on a layup from freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. with 13:25 left.
- The Wildcats then used a 9-0 run to take a 21-7 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Keshad Johnson and Kylan Boswell, forcing MSU to call a timeout.
- Arizona took its biggest lead, 32-17, on a jumper from Boswell with 5:29 to play, but the Spartans responded with a 13-5 run and closed to within 37-30 on a fast break dunk from Carr with 34 seconds left before going into the half down 40-30.
- Arizona opened up a 15-point lead in the first half and a 10-point lead at the break after shooting 51.6 percent from the floor (16-of-31).
- The Spartans committed just nine turnovers, but six of them came in the first half and led to 10 Arizona points.
- MSU shot just 38.7 percent from the floor (12-of-31) in the first half.
- The Spartans were out-rebounded 21-16 in the second half.
- Michigan State is 0-2 when scoring less than 70 points.
- The Spartans were out-rebounded for the fourth time this season and they are 1-3 in those games.
- Tyson Walker led the Spartans in scoring for the fourth time this season.
- Walker scored 18 points, including 12 in the first half.
- It was his fifth game in double figures this year and the 79th of his career.
- Walker has now scored 910 points in 74 games at Michigan State, a 12.3 per game average.
- Walker also led the team with 4 assists, his third time leading the team this season and the 58th of his career.
- Jaden Akins scored 12 points, his fourth game in double figures this year and the 18th of his career.
- A.J. Hoggard scored 15 points, all in the second half.
- He has scored in double figures three times this season and 37 times in his career.
- Mady Sissoko led the Spartans with 10 rebounds, his second game this year with at least 10 and the seventh of his career.
Michigan State returns home to play Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on BTN.
Team Stats
MSU
UA
FG%
.406
.458
3FG%
.294
.263
FT%
.786
.750
RB
34
39
TO
9
10
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
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