National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan St 68, Nebraska 55
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 31, 2011
Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
Officials: # Jim Burr, # Tom O'Neill, # Kelly Self
Attendance: 10679

Draymond Green scored a game-high 19 points as visiting No. 17 Michigan State used an early second-half explosion to rally past Nebraska 68-55 Saturday.

Keith Appling added 14 points for the Spartans (13-2, 2-0 Big Ten), whose 13-game winning streak is the longest for the team since winning 22 in a row in 1999.

Nebraska (8-5, 0-2) turned the ball over just twice before the break and did not trail in the first 20 minutes, but fell apart early in the second half with six turnovers over the first 6:23 to fuel a 20-4 run that gave Michigan State a 49-34 advantage.

However, unlike Tuesday’s 24-point home loss to No. 11 Wisconsin, Nebraska fought its way back from a large second-half deficit against Michigan State, forcing five turnovers during a 16-4 rally over the next 4:31 to close to within 53-50.

Nebraska had two opportunities to trim the deficit even further, but went scoreless for over four minutes as Appling reeled off six unanswered points to establish a 59-50 advantage.

The Huskers rallied once again with five straight points, but Austin Thornton’s 3-pointer with 3:16 remaining started a game-ending 9-0 run to dash Nebraska’s hopes for one final comeback.

Bo Spencer came off the bench for the first time in his Husker career to score a team-high 15 points for Nebraska, which will face its third consecutive ranked opponent Tuesday when it travels to No. 2 Ohio State.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Nebraska
Draymond Green 19 Scoring Bo Spencer 15
Keith Appling 4 Assists Brandon Richardson 6
Draymond Green 8 Rebounds Toney McCray 6
Draymond Green 9 Free Throws Made Bo Spencer 4
Draymond Green 1 Steals Christopher Niemann 2
Branden Dawson 2 Blocks Caleb Walker 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 68 46.0 3-14 19-21 10 33 4 4 13
Nebraska 55 36.0 7-25 12-15 12 21 1 7 12