Illinois gets hot in second half, snaps MSU's seven-game win streak
Matt Charboneau
Champaign, Ill. – Michigan State had proven at least one thing as it reeled off seven straight victories – it was figuring out how to close out games and earn some tough victories.
The Spartans did that last weekend at home against Michigan and on Tuesday at No. 18 Wisconsin.
More:BOX SCORE: Illinois 75, Michigan State 66
So, when Michigan State had a nine-point lead with a chance to extend it to double digits early in the second half Friday at Illinois, it seemed it was in perfect position to bring home an eight straight win.
The Fighting Illini, though, had other ideas.
Behind the shooting of Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer, the low-post scoring of Dain Dainja and riding the wave of the emotion from a packed house at the State Farm Center, Illinois came storming back, reeling off an 18-4 run on its way to a 75-66 victory, snapping Michigan State’s seven-game winning streak and winning for the third straight time in the series.
“It’s a road game and it was a really good environment out there,” Michigan State senior Joey Hauser said. “It’s always hard to bounce back in those situations, but we fought back hard. We didn’t really make any big shots down the stretch. We had a couple of them there, but they did a really good job. In different games in different situations, I think we’ll bounce back.”
The Fighting Illini made it tough for the Spartans (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) to bounce back in this one with their defense, keeping Michigan State from making a single 3-pointer on seven tries. It also didn’t help that Malik Hall rolled his left ankle again and missed the final 7:26.
“It was definitely a turning point,” Hauser said of losing Hall. “It’s tough when one of your best guys goes down. You just got to keep playing and try to fill that void. But having a guy like Malik go down, who so good for us offensively and defensively, it’s not easy, especially when you’re on the road.”
After the big run for Illinois, Michigan State managed to pull even at 60-60 with 5:49 to play, but it was all Illinois from there as the Illini won for the third straight time in the series as Michigan State went 0-for-7 from 3-point range, the first time this season it failed to make a triple in a game.
“I’m proud of my team in some ways and very disappointed in others,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “In fairness to my players, I think it was total fatigue … and the injury, it just it really hurt us. So I'm still proud of my team. I mean, we competed and we did everything we had to do, we just kind of ran out of gas.
“It's just that we made some foolish plays in some critical times – just a couple – and they pounced on it and took advantage.”
A.J. Hoggard had 20 points but just one assist while Tyson Walker scored 14 for the Spartans and Hauser added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dain Dainja scored 20 to lead Illinois (12-5, 3-3) while Matthew Mayer had 19 and Terrence Shannon scored 17, including 15 in the first half.
“The one big thing is coming in, they were 11-1 when make more than five threes (in a game),” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “So we tried, like we normally do, to take the 3-point line away anyway. We executed the game plan.
“On the offensive side, we had five turnovers, which for us is a huge thing. It was a good win at home. We held court against a really good team, a team that was hot and had won seven in a row. I was really pleased with the second half.”
The action was fast and furious from the outset with both teams playing at a frenetic pace. Illinois had the early advantage as Shannon scored 13 of the first 15 points from the Fighting Illini and 15 of the first 19. However, he was held scoreless the rest of the half as the Spartans started to crawl back after falling behind, 15-10, when Shannon hit a pair of technical free throws called on the Michigan State bench.
Michigan State scored five in a row to pull even, and after a Shannon layup gave Illinois a 19-17 lead with 10:51 to play in the half, the Spartans ripped off eight straight points, beginning with a lob from Hoggard to Mady Sissoko followed by a Hoggard layup and two in a row from Walker as Michigan State pulled ahead, 25-19, with 8:44 left in the half.
But Illinois responded with a 7-0 run of its own to retake the lead at 26-25, only to watch Michigan State score six in a row, including back-to-back layups from Carson Cooper.
The Spartans extended the lead to 35-28 on layups from Jaden Akins and Hoggard before Jayden Epps drilled a 3-pointer and Mayer scored on a drive for the Illini. Hoggard then split free throws on back-to-back possessions to give Michigan State a 37-33 lead at halftime.
The second half started with nearly the same pace as the first, but this time Michigan State got the early advantage, pushing its lead to 42-35 after scoring five straight points. Illinois eventually pulled within 44-41 on a layup from Epps, but Michigan State scored four in a row to extend the lead to 48-41 with 15:12 to play.
After a bench technical on Illinois allowed Michigan State’s lead to grow to 50-41, Illinois started chipping and produced the decisive 18-4 run to take control of the game with a 59-54 lead with 7:28 to play.
Michigan State was able to scratch its way back and tie the game at 60, but the Spartans then failed to close out on a 3-pointer from Coleman Hawkins and Hoggard took a bad triple early in the next possession which led to another bucket from Dainja and a 65-60 lead for the Illini.
The Spartans pulled within three points on two occasions but made just one of their final six shots as Illinois put the game away in the final minutes.
“We battled back and hung in there,” Izzo said. “I thought we did some great things, we ran some good stuff and guarded very well. But give Dainja credit, he kicked our but singlehandedly and then Mayer came through for them. Those two guys really won the game.”
Michigan State now heads home to prepare for Monday’s home game with No. 3 Purdue, unsure of whether Hall will be available.
“Injuries have been part of the whole year,” Izzo said. “I'm afraid that hopefully this doesn't keep him out. … I don't know.”
Twitter: @mattcharboneau