MSU rolls past Brown, Hauser tops 1,000, some rest on tap

East Lansing – There was just less than 10 minutes to play on Saturday afternoon and Michigan State players headed to the sideline, a timeout called as the Spartans were rolling over Brown, their Ivy League opponent.

Just as the team hit the huddle, the announcement came. Joey Hauser had eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career. As his teammates swarmed him and the crowd at Breslin Center chanted his name, Hauser insists it all took him by surprise.

“I had no clue,” Hauser said. “I didn't know where I was at, so it definitely caught me by surprise.”

It had happened just minutes before as Hauser curled off a screen and hit a jumper from the elbow, giving Michigan State a 17-point lead at the time in a game in which the Spartans would cruise down the stretch, knocking off Brown, 68-50.

Hauser finished with 22 points to lead Michigan State (7-4), shooting 9-for-13, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Hauser, who scored 329 points at Marquette before transferring, has scored 678 points for Michigan State, giving him a total of 1,007.

And on Saturday afternoon, a crowd that at times has been hard on Hauser showed its appreciation, chanting his name in unison.

“I probably could not have made it up in my head,” Hauser said, “10,000 people or whatever it is, chanting 'Joey.' It was a really cool moment but definitely even more special having my teammates kind of surround me and congratulating me.”

BOX SCORE: Michigan State 68, Brown 50

It’s the sort of team Michigan State is becoming this season – one that might not overwhelm opponents but will have their teammates’ backs on any given night. It was clear early in the season when Mady Sissoko was the star against Kentucky, the Spartans mobbing him on the way off the court. And it was more of the same early this week when A.J. Hoggard scored a career-high 23 at Penn State, getting doused with water in the locker room after showing out in front of family and friends in his home state.

So it was no surprise to Tom Izzo when his team had the same reaction toward Hauser.

“It’s probably one of the great things I feel about this team,” Izzo said. “Watching Mady after the Kentucky game and all the guys rallying around him and watching A.J. after the Penn State game and the scene in the locker room. Then watching Joey today and how they gravitated to him. That’s three different people and it means your team does care about each other.

“It was great because everybody knows (Joey has) been through a lot, and it was great. I couldn't be prouder of him but the rest of my team, too, for acknowledging it.”

Added Hoggard, “We’re a close-knit team and we thrive on things like that. So seeing somebody make a milestone and accomplish something like that, you’re just happy for your brother. Joey is one of my brothers and I'm just happy he got to complete that and I was there to witness it. It was just a fun moment all the way around.”

Hauser’s milestone was the clear highlight of an otherwise ordinary game, the end of Michigan State’s opening 11 games that included some of the best competition in the nation combined with a brutal schedule. Over the next 20 days, Michigan State plays just twice, its next game on Dec. 21 against Oakland.

“I’m the happiest guy in America that 11 games of hell is over,” Izzo said. “I really am.”

In addition to the offensive outburst from Hauser,  Hoggard followed up a career game at Penn State by scoring 17 and handing out four assists while Tyson Walker chipped in 10 points for the Spartans despite sitting most of the first half with foul trouble.

Malachi Ndur scored 10 for Brown (5-5) while Paxon Wojcik, son of Michigan State assistant Doug Wojcik, added 10 for the Bears.

“We were not at our best offensively,” Brown coach Mike Martin said. “But obviously they had a lot to do with it. Our defense kept us in it for a little bit but then we’re just putting way too much pressure on our defense to consistently get stops because our offense was not where it needed to be.”

Much of Brown’s struggles were thanks to Michigan State’s defense that held the Bears to 4-for-20 from 3-point range and limited leading scorer Kino Lilly Jr. to three points after he entered the game averaging 15.9.

“I give us a lot of credit defensively,” Izzo said. “We did an unbelievable job and an unbelievable job on Lilly. He’s a really good player and he can score in a lot of different ways, but he didn't even get many shots off.”

Michigan State being locked in defensively was critical as it was a chilly start from the field for both teams. Michigan State made two of its first nine shots while Brown opened the game going 3-for-15.

The Spartans began to settle in, scoring seven straight points to take an 18-10 lead on a layup in transition from Walker. They eventually extended the lead to 24-14 on a Hoggard jumper and took their biggest lead at 32-18 on a 3-pointer from the corner by Jaden Akins.

It was a score that held up heading into halftime as Michigan State overcame a slow start on the glass to outrebound Brown, 26-18, while scoring nine points off four Brown turnovers.

Michigan State started to pull away early in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers from Hauser and Walker and eventually extended its lead to 46-26 on a pair of free throws from Hoggard with 13:40 to play. Brown scored the next five, though, to keep things interesting.

The Spartans scored the next 11 to regain control of the game as the final five-plus minutes were turned over to the backups.

“Now we have 11 days until the next game, which some coaches will tell you isn't very good either,” Izzo said. “But it's going to be good for us because we're going to get some practice time.

“And we're going to get some rest. We're going to do some of that because they need it. And then I’ll move on to recruiting and it will be a good deal.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau