Michigan State 72, Purdue 66: Travis Trice matched his career high of 27 points and handed out six assists as the host Spartans downed the Boilermakers to forge a four-way for third place in the Big Ten.

Denzel Valentine shook off a second-half lower-body injury to add 17 points for Michigan State (20-10, 11-6 Big Ten), which snapped a two-game skid and overcame the loss of Branden Dawson – the league’s leading rebounder – to a facial injury in the first half. Matt Costello contributed 13 points, seven boards and four blocks for the Spartans.

Kendall Stephens and Dakota Mathias combined for nine of Purdue’s 10 3-pointers and finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively. The Boilermakers (19-11, 11-6), who have dropped seven straight in this series, had won eight of their previous nine overall and will conclude their regular season Saturday at home against Illinois.

Isaac Haas’ bucket with 1:11 left in the first half matched Purdue’s biggest lead at 30-21, but Marvin Clark Jr. and Valentine drained 3-pointers to close the gap to three at the break. Valentine continued Michigan State’s surge early in the second half, scoring his team’s first five points before the Boilermakers answered with a triple from Mathias with 17½ minutes remaining.

The 3-pointer from the freshman sharpshooter proved to be Purdue’s only field goal over the next seven-plus minutes, enabling the Spartans to complete their 24-4 run on Valentine’s fourth triple and open up an 11-point advantage. The Boilermakers answered with an 8-2 spurt to pull within 47-42 with just over seven minutes to go, but Trice knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Michigan State did not allow its lead to dip below five as it hit nine free throws over the final 1:08.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Dawson left with about 8½ minutes remaining after taking a blow to the right side of his face as he was attempting to battle Haas for a rebound and did not return. … Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reached the 20-win mark for the 15th time in 20 seasons. … Purdue C A.J. Hammons’ second block with 9½ minutes remaining allowed him to become the third player in Big Ten history and first since Boilermaker great Joe Barry Carroll to amass 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 250 blocks by the end of his junior season.