National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan St 67, Texas 56
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 22, 2012
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Officials: # Tom Eades, # Paul Janssen, # Bert Smith
Attendance: 14797

No. 19 Michigan State 67, Texas 56
: Derrick Nix scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the host Spartans to a win over the Longhorns.

Keith Appling scored 14 points and Adreian Payne chipped in 13 off the bench to help Michigan State (11-2) record its sixth straight win. The Spartans made 23 free throws and forced 18 turnovers to even the all-time series at four games apiece.

Julien Lewis led Texas (7-5) with 16 points and Sheldon McClellan added 13 as the Longhorns fell short of recording their second straight win over a ranked opponent. They topped North Carolina, also ranked 19th, 85-67 on Wednesday.

Nix had 14 points in the first half but his team trailed 33-28. He had three points in an 8-0 run to open the second that gave the Spartans the lead for good and his three-point play with 9:13 left made it 54-44, giving Michigan State its first double-digit lead.

Texas pulled within two points on a Connor Lammert jumper with 4:46 remaining, but Payne and Appling had back-to-back hoops to spark a game-ending 11-2 surge. The Longhorns were 1-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-3 from the line after Lammert's basket.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas lost for the first time in seven games when leading at the half. ... Michigan State has won 17 straight non-conference games at home. The Longhorns were the last non-conference team to win at the Breslin Center, defeating the Spartans on this date two years ago. ... Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has 423 wins as a Big Ten coach, tied with Lou Henson and trailing only Bob Knight (662) and Gene Keady (512).
Top Game Performances
 
Texas   Michigan St
Julien Lewis 16 Scoring Derrick Nix 25
Javan Felix 11 Assists Keith Appling 3
Connor Lammert 6 Rebounds Derrick Nix 11
Sheldon McClellan 6 Free Throws Made Derrick Nix 11
Javan Felix 1 Steals Derrick Nix 4
Prince Ibeh 2 Blocks Keith Appling 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Texas 56 36.5 4-13 14-24 14 26 3 3 18
Michigan St 67 44.7 2-11 23-30 13 32 2 10 16