EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Florida Gulf Coast made a name for itself by knocking off Georgetown as a No. 15 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Eagles nearly recorded the second win over a ranked opponent in school history on Sunday.

Eron Harris scored 31 points, two shy of his career high, and No. 13 Michigan State survived a major scare from the Eagles, prevailing in controversial fashion 78-77 at the Breslin Center.

Following two missed free throws by Harris in the closing seconds, the Eagles needed to go the full length of court.

With 1.6 seconds left, the clock inadvertently started when the inbounds pass was thrown. Artavious Simmons caught the ball and rushed up the shot, which missed the rim. The officials eventually declared the game over.

"Since a timing error occurred, we are able to utilize the replay monitor. A stopwatch was used to determine if any time should remain on the game clock," official Bo Boroski told a pool reporter. "Using a stopwatch, it was determined the ball was caught and released in 1.3 seconds, meaning if the shot would have gone in, it would have counted. After the miss, there was no time remaining in the game, therefore ending the game."

Eagles coach Joe Dooley said Simmons rushed the shot because the horn went off.

"We were going to try and lay it in," he said. "With 1.6 seconds, you've got a dribble and a half. I mean, dribble, catch and try to throw it. He heard the horn and threw it."

Freshman Miles Bridges, who had 24 points against Mississippi Valley on Friday, supplied 13 points and seven rebounds for Michigan State (2-2). Fellow freshman Cassius Winston added seven points -- including the go-ahead free throw -- and five assists.

The Spartans now play three games in three days in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas, beginning Wednesday against St. John's.

Coach Tom Izzo said his team needs to get much more physical after the narrow escape. A rugged early schedule has made him reluctant to have hard practices, but that will change.

"We are just playing sissy-ball right now," he said. "That's the way I'm coaching it because I am worried about injuries. So I am not going to worry about that and I'm not going to worry about how we practice anymore. I mean we have to get after it. You become a product of what you do and we have become a product a little bit. We're softer than we've ever been and it's not all their fault."

He was pleased to see his best perimeter shooter get on a roll.

"Eron could have made those free throws at the end and made that a monster game. But he made big shots, he got to his spots on the break and hit the shots he's supposed to hit," Izzo said. "We finally got the ball inside, someone kicked it out to him, or we drove the base line, someone kicked it out to him."

Antravious Simmons and Brandon Goodwin scored 18 points apiece for Florida Gulf Coast (1-3) and RaySean Scott Jr. added 14.

Dooley was generally pleased with his team, except for the outcome.

"We've been getting better," he said. "We value possessions. We didn't turn it over as much tonight, we thought we were efficient. Weren't great at the free throw line, but I thought our guys really battled."

NOTES: The schools played each other for just the second time. The Spartans won their first meeting, 97-58, on Nov. 13, 2009. ... The Spartans are now 60-0 at home in November under coach Tom Izzo. The last time they lost a November game at home was 1986, when Navy defeated them, 91-90, in overtime. ... The Eagles have been playing this season without their top returning scorer and rebounder, Marc-Eddy Norelia, who is recovering from a broken left hand. ... Michigan State coach Tom Izzo received a technical foul for arguing over a non-call on an apparent travelling violation.