Michigan State University
19-13,10-10Big Ten
Minnesota
18-14,9-11Big Ten
Balanced Attack Helps Lead Michigan State Past Minnesota, 77-67
3/14/2024 2:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Hoggard Leads with 17, Walker Finishes with 15 and 24 Points off the Bench
Minneapolis, Minn. – Michigan State used a late run in the second half and held on to beat Minnesota, 77-67, in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Target Center.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 15 points, grabbed three rebounds and had three assists and senior guard A.J. Hoggard scored a team-high 17 points and had six assists, while graduate forward Malik Hall scored all nine of his points in the second half.
Records
Michigan State improved to 19-13 while Minnesota falls to 18-14.
Recap
- Hoggard scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half on a perfect 6-6 shooting from the field on the day, including a pair of fast-break layups and a 3pt that kept Minnesota at bay early in the second period.
- After exchanging the lead 11 times, the Spartans took the lead for good behind a Malik Hall free throw following and and-one play at the rim to make the score 50-49 with 11:51 to play.
- Sophomore guard and Minneapolis native Tre Holloman was also efficient with all of his shots, adding on nine points including a 3 that extended MSU's lead to four for the first time at 9:19.
- The veterans Walker and Hoggard helpled MSU pull away late in the game, both hitting all of their free throws while Walker posted eight of his 15 points in the final 4:27 of play.
- Efficient defense on the other end of the floor, including seven second half steals, helped Michigan State extend it's lead to as much as 13 with a minute to go.
- The Spartans went into the locker room at half trailing by two points, 34-32.
- The Spartans tied the game three more times, first on a free throw from Cooper (2:56), then on Walker free throws (2:10) and then on a driving layup from Walker with 1:28 to play.
- Minnesota jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and MSU didn't hit its first field goal until the 16:29 mark when Hoggard fed freshman forward Xavier Booker for a dunk.
- That started a 14-3 run over 4:03 as the Spartans took a 14-10 lead on a dunk from Hall with 12:26 on the clock.
- The Gophers responded with an 11-0 run and took a 21-14 lead on a 3-pointer from Garcia with 9:08 left to play.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers from Walker and Holloman triggered a 12-4 run as free throws from Hoggard at 4:23 gave MSU a 26-25 lead.
- The teams traded the lead back and forth five times before a Garcia layup with 1:01 left gave the Gophers a slight edge at the break.
Up Next
Michigan State advances to the quarterfinals and will play No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday, March 15 at noon (ET), tipping off on BTN.
