Ugochukwu Scores 16 Points, Helps Lead No. 11 Michigan State Past East Carolina, 89-56, at Fort Myers Tip-Off

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 16 points off the bench and No. 11 Michigan State opened up a 23-point lead at halftime en route to an 89-56 win over East Carolina in the first round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

Ugochukwu hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 from outside the arc, while adding two rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead four players in double figures.

Senior forward Jaxon Kohler had 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds, junior forward Coen Carr added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and senior center Carson Cooper finished with 10 points and a game-high eight rounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. added six points and a game-high nine assists.

Records
Michigan State improves to 6-0 this season, while East Carolina falls to 2-4.

Recap

Michigan State opened up a 23-point lead at the break, 47-24, and saw its lead dip below 20 points only once in the second half, when East Carolina scored the first two baskets and trailed by 19 points, 47-28, on a basket from Giovanni Emejuru.
The Spartans pushed their lead to 30 points, 61-30, when Fears fed Carr for an alleyoop with 15:25 left in the game.
Kohler tied his career-high with his fourth 3-pointer, pushing the MSU lead to 73-31 with 11:25 on the block.
The Spartans took their biggest lead of the game, 75-42, on a jumper from Cooper with 9:24 to play.
The Spartans had gone into the break with a 47-24 lead, connecting on 56.7 percent of their field goals (17-of-30), including 53.3 percent from 3-point land (8-of-15).
Kohler scored 10 of his points in the opening 20 minutes and nine different Spartans scored.
MSU jumped out to an early 8-3 lead on a layup from Kohler at 15:06 but the Pirates tied the game at 9-all on a jumper Corey Caulker.
The Spartans responded with a 14-2 run over 4:15, with Kohler book-ending a pair of 3-pointers to give MSU a 23-11 lead.
The lead grew to 16 points, 30-14, when Kohler hit a turnaround jumper at 6:42 and a 3-pointer at 3:19 from Ugochukwu pushed the Spartan advantage to 39-19.

Key Stats

Michigan State connected on 50.7 percent of its field goals (34-of-67) and hit 46.4 percent of its 3-point attempts (13-of-28).
The Spartans handed out 23 assists on 34 made field goals.
MSU had a 38-34 advantage on the boards, collecting 13 offensive rebounds and scoring 17 second-chance points.
MSU out-scored the Pirates, 36-12 in the paint.
The Spartans scored 31 points off of 24 East Carolina turnovers.
MSU out-scored ECU, 23-7, on the fast break.
Led by Ugochukwu, the Spartans bench scored 35 points.

Notes

This was the first-ever meeting between East Carolina and Michigan State
Izzo's career record improved to 743-302 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program.
The Spartans have an all-time record of 166-47 in November.
Head Coach Tom Izzo is 131-43 for the month overall.
The Spartans scored a season-high 89 points.
- MSU is 4-0 when scoring at least 80 points.
MSU shot 50.7 percent from the floor (34-of-67), the second time hitting at least 50 percent of its field goals.
- It was the fourth-straight game the team has connected on at least 48.0 percent of its field goals.
The Spartans hit a season-high 13 shots from 3-point land, eclipsing the mark of 11 set last week against Kentucky.
MSU controlled the battle of the boards (38-34) for the sixth-straight game.
- The Spartans collected 163offensive rebounds, the sixth-straight game with at least 10 on the offensive glass.
MSU limited Detroit Mercy to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, the fifth-straight opponent to shoot below 40 percent.
Sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 16 points, his first game in double figures as a Spartan.
- It was his fourth career game in double figures.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures six times this year and 18 for his career.
- It was his third time this season leading the team in rebounds and the 24th of his career.
Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored six points and handed out a game-high nine assists.
- This was the sixth game this season with at least nine assists for Fears.
- He has led the team in assists six times this year and 28 for his career.
Junior forward Coen Carr finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures four times this season and 18 for his career.
Senior center Carson Cooper had 10 points and eight rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures four times and eight for his career.
- He has led the team in rebounding twice this season and 18 times for his career.

Up Next
Michigan State plays North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27 in the second game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division. The game tips off at 4:30 p.m. on FOX, with Adam Amin and Jim Jackson calling all of the action.

Ugochukwu Scores 16 Points, Helps Lead No. 11 Michigan State Past East Carolina, 89-56, at Fort Myers Tip-Off

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Team Stats

Riley Jordan

Caulker Corey

Emejuru Giovanni

Cason Reid

Players Mentioned

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Jaxon Kohler

Divine Ugochukwu

Ugochukwu Scores 16 Points, Helps Lead No. 11 Michigan State Past East Carolina, 89-56, at Fort Myers Tip-Off

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Riley Jordan

Caulker Corey

Emejuru Giovanni

Cason Reid

Players Mentioned

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Jaxon Kohler

Divine Ugochukwu

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