Michigan State, USC tied 34-34 at the half, Joey Hauser with 8 points
Columbus, Ohio – Michigan State led by as many as 11 in the first half of Friday’s First Round game in the NCAA Tournament East Regional against USC, but the Trojans fought back to tie the game at 34-34, heading into halftime.
Joey Hauser led Michigan State wth 8 points in the first half. Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins each scored 6.
Akins gave Michigan State a 28-21 with a soaring dunk from the left wing on a blitz counterbreak, bringing a load ovation from a good crowd of Spartan fans at Nationwide Arena.
But Michigan State had trouble sustaining momentum of a hot start, as this battle between the No. 7 seed Spartans and No. 10 seed Trojans could be headed for a nail-biting finish.
Michigan State took its biggest lead of the first half at 24-13 with 9:08 left when Mady Sissoko finished a slam dunk off a splendid screen-and-slip pass from AJ Hoggard.
Walker had six points in the first nine minutes, including a driving finger roll (giving Michigan State a 7-4 lead), a driving lay-up after refusing a ball screen (15-9) and a pull-up jumper from the baseline (17-9).
Joey Hauser hit a pair of 3-pointers to give Michigan State leads of 5-2 and 22-13.
But USC used a 15-4 run to tie the game at 28-28 on a free throw by reserve center Kijani Wright.
USC center Joshua Morgan, who averages 6.7 points per game, got loose for 10 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting, finishing four around the rim and hitting a face-up jumper.
Sissoko had a good first half in some respects with 4 points and three rebounds. But when he lost Morgan on screen-and-roll defense for a lay-up which cut MSU’s lead to 28-25 with 3:42 left, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo angrily called a time out and gave Sissoko a stern reprimand.
Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler responded with a turn-around, baseline jumper from 10 feet to give Michigan State a 30-28 lead.
USC used seven points from sophomore wing Reese Dixon-Waters in the first half, including a 3-pointer which gave USC a 34-32 lead in the final minute of the first half.
But Michigan State’s Hoggard answered with a driving hook shot in the lane at the buzzer to tie it at the break.
Michigan State did a good job containing USC’s dangerous offensive threats Boogie Ellis (2 points) and Drew Peterson (7 points) but USC support players did the damage.
