Sophomore Xavier Booker scored a career-high 18 points to lift No. 20 Michigan State to a 77-58 nonconference win over Oakland on Tuesday in Detroit.
Booker shot 5 of 9 from the field overall and went 3 of 5 from 3-point range while eclipsing his previous high of 12 points. Jaden Akins scored 16 points and Jaxon Kohler had 14 points and 10 rebounds to complement Booker for Michigan State (9-2), which won its fourth game in a row.
The Spartans dominated the boards, holding a 51-31 advantage and grabbing 20 offensive rebounds.
Michigan State shot 43.3 percent (26 of 60) from the field and went 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) from 3-point range. Oakland made 19 of 63 shots (30.2 percent) and 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
DQ Cole scored 17 points and Malcolm Christie put up 15 points for the Golden Grizzlies (3-6), who are 0-23 all-time against Michigan State. Cole went 5 of 12 from 3-point range, while Christie was 4 of 9.
Oakland played Michigan State tough in the first half, taking a 19-18 lead with 7:30 remaining and then trailing just 31-30 at halftime.
However, Michigan State’s superior depth eventually wore down the Golden Grizzlies in the second half. The Spartans started the half on a 10-1 run to take a 41-31 lead with 15:57 remaining after a 3-pointer by Jase Richardson.
Oakland fought back briefly, going on a 9-2 run to make it 43-40 with 13:13 to go.
Michigan State countered with an 11-2 surge to go up 54-42 with 9:17 remaining, after an layup by Akins.
The Spartans eventually built their lead to 73-53 with 2:08 left, on a layup by Tre Holloman.
–Field Level Media
