Akins Shines with 18 Points as No. 18/15 Michigan State Dominates Western Michigan 80-62!

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Senior guard Jaden Akins netted 18 points, leading two teammates in double digits as No. 18/15 Michigan State finished strong in the second half to defeat Western Michigan, 80-62, at the Breslin Center on Monday afternoon.

Akins achieved 14 of his game-leading 18 points during the first half, as the Spartans secured a 13-point advantage with two players scoring in double figures for MSU, including junior center Carson Cooper who recorded a career-best 13 points and had six rebounds.

Senior center Szymon Zapala contributed 8 points and a game-high 9 rebounds; junior guard Tre Holloman added 9 points and 5 assists, while redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. ended with 3 points and a game-leading 6 assists.

Records

Michigan State improves to 11-2 overall, while Western Michigan drops to 3-9.

Recap

• The Spartans entered the second half with a 13-point advantage (37-24), but Western Michigan registered the first 10 points of the half, narrowing the gap to 37-34, and MSU maintained a lead no greater than 10 points during the initial 10 minutes of the second half.
• Western Michigan closed the gap to 59-52 with 7:26 remaining, but MSU responded with six consecutive points, extending their lead to 65-52 after a couple of free throws from Carr at the 5:06 mark.
• Free throws from Donovan Williams made it 65-56 (4:19) before the Spartans countered with eight consecutive points, pushing their lead to 73-56 (2:35) with two more free throws from Carr.
• A jump shot from junior guard Nick Sanders provided MSU with their largest lead, 80-60, with 35 seconds remaining.
• Michigan State held a 13-point margin, 37-24, at halftime; however, Western Michigan scored the first 10 points of the second half, cutting it to 37-34 with a 3-pointer from Owen Lobsinger less than three minutes into the half.
• The Spartans increased their lead once more to eight points, 42-34, after a layup from Zapala and a 3-pointer from Akins at the 17:28 mark, followed by a dunk from Cooper, which gave MSU a 49-41 advantage.
• Western Michigan shrunk the deficit to four points, 49-45, with a jumper from Chansey Willis Jr. with 11:56 remaining, but the Spartans countered with a 9-2 streak over 2:13, reaching a 58-47 lead on a jump shot from Zapala with 9:30 still to play.
• Despite committing 11 turnovers in the first half, the Spartans headed into halftime with a 37-24 lead after Zapala’s tip-in at the buzzer.
• Junior guard Tre Holloman converted MSU’s opening shot of the game, a 3-pointer just nine seconds into the match; however, Western responded with an 8-0 run and took an 8-3 advantage on a 3-pointer from Brandon Muntu at the 17:07 mark.
• The Broncos reached their largest lead, 11-5, at 15:15 following a 3-pointer from JaVaughn Hannah.
• MSU retaliated with a 13-0 run over 3:34, taking an 18-11 lead after a free throw from Fears and two from senior forward Frankie Fidler following a technical foul called against the WMU bench at 11:33.
• Western Michigan narrowed the score to 18-13 before a dunk from sophomore forward Xavier Booker provided MSU with a 27-18 lead at 7:13, prompting the Broncos to call a timeout.
• That was part of an 11-4 run capped off by an alley-oop dunk from junior center Carson Cooper at the 4:00 mark, giving MSU a 33-22 lead before Zapala’s tip-in increased the margin to 13 points.

Up Next
Michigan State will resume Big Ten Conference play at the beginning of the new year, traveling to face Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 3 (FS1, 8 p.m.).
 
Read Full Article