Tyson Walker had 21 points and Michigan State pulled away late to defeat Minnesota 76-66 on Thursday night in East Lansing, Mich.
Malik Hall racked up 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for the Spartans (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten). Jaden Akins had 10 points, A.J. Hoggard contributed eight points and seven assists and Tre Holloman added eight points for Michigan State, which handed Minnesota its third straight loss.
Dawson Garcia led the Golden Gophers (12-6, 3-4) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Mike Mitchell Jr. had 14 points and five assists for Minnesota, which hurt itself with 19 turnovers that led to 21 Spartans points. Michigan State also had a 44-12 advantage in points in the paint.
Minnesota was fortunate to be down just 37-32 at halftime. The Golden Gophers committed 11 turnovers in the half. Hoggard and Walker led Michigan State with eight points apiece, while Garcia topped Minnesota with nine points.
The Golden Gophers opened the second half with a 7-1 spurt to take the lead. Mitchell started it off with a 3-pointer and Garcia completed it with two free throws.
Hall answered with a 3-pointer and neither side held a lead of more than four points until a three-point play by Holloman gave the Spartans a 56-51 advantage with 12:13 to play.
Garcia scored the Gophers’ next eight points to tie it up at 59-all. Akins made a fastbreak layup to put Michigan State back in front.
After Minnesota tied it again at 62 apiece, Walker made two consecutive baskets off Gophers turnovers. He also answered two Garcia free throws with a putback to make it 68-64.
Walker then grabbed a steal and knocked down two free throws for a six-point advantage with 1:59 remaining. Mitchell missed a pair of 3-point attempts before Walker scored again to increase the lead to 72-64.
After the Gophers came up empty on their next possession, Carson Cooper made two free throws to give the Spartans a double-digit lead.
–Field Level Media
