National Basketball Association
Michigan St 74, Maryland 65
When: 6:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 23, 2016
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Officials:
# DJ Cartensen, # Mark Whitehead, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance:
14797
By The Sports Xchange
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Tom Izzo needed someone to pick his team up. Matt Costello, playing on a gimpy ankle, gave Michigan State and Izzo that required lift.
Costello greeted the veteran coach with a bear hug and twirled him around in the waning seconds of the Spartans' much-needed 74-65 victory over No. 7 Maryland on Saturday night at the Breslin Center.
"I could use a ride once in a while," Izzo said. "It's not all bad."
Costello promised not to make it a habit.
"I've got to stop doing that," he said.
Izzo doesn't want Costello to stop playing like he did. The senior center powered for 15 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and two steals as No. 11 Michigan State (17-4, 4-4 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak. The Spartans averted their first four-game losing conference streak since the 2006-07 season.
"I'm just joining Allen Iverson. Who needs practice?" Izzo said. "He didn't practice for three days, didn't do nothing. So I guess practice is overrated. The guy just sucked it up and played."
Costello wouldn't mind making that a habit.
"I'm going to tell him I never want to practice again," he said with a grin.
Senior guards Bryn Forbes and Denzel Valentine were also instrumental in the victory. Forbes scored 25 points and Valentine came within two assists of his third career triple-double, racking up 19 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Forbes said the Spartans eliminated "stupid mistakes" during crucial moments of the game.
"That's what's been hurting us the last three games," said Forbes, who made four of the team's seven 3-pointers.
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon felt his team ran into a buzz-saw. It was outrebounded 46-36 and gave up 18 fast-break points.
"Michigan State was terrific tonight," he said. "They played with energy, they played with unbelievable effort and it showed on the glass. Our two keys were rebounding and transition defense and we didn't do very well at either one of them."
Forbes also hurt them with his second-highest scoring game this season.
"He made a couple of shots early," Turgeon said. "Their big guys do a great job of screening, especially at home. You look at their wins and you look at their losses and his numbers, we knew he was a key to the game and he got hot."
Sophomore point guard Melo Trimble led Maryland (17-3, 6-2) with 24 points and junior power forward Robert Carter had 13.
Maryland reeled off seven straight points to take a 46-42 lead early in the second half. Carter scored the last four points on a transition dunk and a fast-break layup after stealing a Valentine pass.
Michigan State came back with eight straight points, capped by Valentine's midrange jumper. The Spartans took the lead for keeps on Valentine's 3-point play with 9:41 left.
That kicked off a 9-0 run finished off by a Forbes jumper to make it 62-53. Costello scored four points during that span.
"Refusal to lose," Costello said of the outburst. "We were sick and tired of losing and we changed that tonight."
He also grabbed a key offensive rebound in the final minute to set up clinching free throws by Forbes.
"I thought that was the hardest we've played in years," Izzo said.
Valentine piled up 10 points, six rebounds and five assists by halftime as the Spartans led 35-29.
Forbes scored 13 before the break, including Michigan State's last basket of the half that gave it a nine-point lead. Terrapins shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon responded with his only points of the half, a 3-pointer.
Trimble kept his team within striking distance with 13 first-half points. Neither club shot well in the opening 20 minutes. The Spartans were at 35.3 percent from the field and Maryland at 35.3 percent.
NOTES: Spartans sophomore PG Lourawls Nairn Jr. (plantar fasciitis) missed his third consecutive game. ... Maryland is the only Big Ten team with five players averaging double figures. ... The Terrapins are 16-2 in games decided by six points or fewer since last season, with one of those losses coming against the Spartans in the Big Ten tournament. ... Michigan State senior PG/SG Denzel Valentine is the only player in Big Ten history with 1,300 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists. ... The Terrapins won four of the last six meetings. ... The Spartans play three of their next four games on the road, beginning at Northwestern on Thursday. The Terrapins host Iowa on the same night.
Top Game Performances
Maryland |
|
Michigan St |
Melo Trimble 24 |
Scoring |
Bryn Forbes 25 |
Rasheed Sulaimon 3 |
Assists |
Denzel Valentine 8 |
Rasheed Sulaimon 7 |
Rebounds |
Denzel Valentine 14 |
Diamond Stone 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Matt Costello 9 |
Michal Cekovsky 2 |
Steals |
Matt Costello 2 |
Diamond Stone 3 |
Blocks |
Matt Costello 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Maryland
|
65 |
38.6 |
8-27 |
13-16 |
11 |
32 |
6 |
3 |
9 |
Michigan St
|
74 |
36.1 |
7-23 |
23-29 |
17 |
44 |
5 |
6 |
8 |