Michigan State survives late 3-point attempts, outlasts Iowa, 63-61

East Lansing, Mich. –  Michigan State survived a pair of 3-point attmpts by Iowa’s Payton Sandfort in the final :08 seconds to turn back the Hawkeyes, 63-61, at Breslin Center, Thursday night. 

Sandfort missed the first triple from the right wing off a set play following an Iowa time out. Iowa’s Connor McCaffery chased down the long offensive rebound and flipped it to Sandfort for another 3-pointer attempt, which missed, causing Spartan fans, failed rebounders and Tom Izzo to give a sigh of relief. 

Michigan State’s A.J. Hoggard missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt with :20 seconds left, giving Iowa a chance for heroics in the final seconds. 

Earlier, Jaden Akins’ off-balance, 16-foot shot from the baseline gave Michigan State a 63-59 lead with :47 seconds left.

Then, Iowa’s Connor McCaffery hit a 12-foot glasser to cut it to 63-61 with :35 seconds left.

Michigan State improved to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten play. Iowa fell to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten.

“We found a way to win a big game against a very good team that has been playing very well, winning four out of their last five,” Izzo said. “I’m excited about that, not as excited about maybe not playing well, but you have to win some when you don’t play as well. That’s the mark of a good team, too.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Malik Hall made his return to the lineup after missing three games due to a stress reaction to his foot. He scored 11 points for Michigan State on 4-of-8 shooting.

Jaden Akins scored 12 for Michigan State on 5-of-11 shooting. 

Tyson Walker scored 10 for Michigan State on 4-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. His 3-pointer of a jab fake from the right wing gave Michigan State a 59-58 lead with 4:59 to play. A few minutes earlier, Walker went down with an ankle injury. He writhed in pain, on the floor along the baseline for nearly a minute after the injury. But he was able to put weight on it and slowly recover – coming back in the late going to help his team.

Joey Hauser scored 11 for Michigan State on 4-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range.

Mady Sissoko scored 10 points for Michigan State and led Michigan State with 10 rebounds. 

Point guard Ahron Ulis led Iowa with 17 points. He was 8-of-10 from the field and Michigan State had trouble keeping his penetration attempts out of the paint. 

“We couldnt guard Ulis with a fishnet,” Izzo said.

Filip Rebraca scored 16 for Iowa and Kris Murray was held to 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. 

Izzo said MSU’s strategy of having its big point guard and defensive stopper, Hoggard, work as the primary defender on the 6-foot-8 Murray was effective in keeping Murray in check. However, Michigan State missed Hoggard’s ball screen defense against Ulis. Izzo said Sissoko struggled with ball screen assignments and communication in helping cover Ulis.

QUOTABLE: TOM IZZO

“We’re going to get better,” Izzo said. “You look at the whole league and everybody is going through some ups and downs, but winning a big game and being 6-4 at the break is a start. Now we have a tough second half and I’m looking forward to it.”

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Iowa outshot Michigan State 45.6 percent to 38.7 percent from the field but Michigan State held a 40 percent to 17 percent advantage from 3-point range. 

Hoggard struggled with his passing and decision-making. He was 3-of-12 from the field and had only one assist against three turnovers. In the late going, Izzo often went with Walker at the point.

Hauser nailed two straight 3-pointers to give Michigan State a 51-49 lead.

But Iowa kept pace with a pair of put-backs when loose balls glanced off the hands of Hauser and Mady Sissoko on consecutive trips, resulting in a 51-51 tie with 8:55 remaining, causing Izzo to fume at his two big men.

Michigan State began cutting into a 6-point, 45-39, deficit with 12:46 left when Hall beat Iowa’s Kris Murray with a physical glasser, set up by a crossover dribble. A fired-up Hall woofed at Murray as he got back on defense.

Moments later, Pierre Brooks grabbed an offensive rebound off a Hall miss and fed Mady Sissoko for a short jumper, cutting the lead to 45-43  with 11:45 left. 

Hall entered the game with 16:21 remaining in the first half, receiving a load ovation from a sold out Breslin Center crowd.

But things started slowly for the Spartans.

Michigan State missed its first nine field goal attempts, and had a turnover returned for a lay-up in falling behind 10-0 with 15:51 left in the first half. 

By the 10:00 mark of the first half, Michigan State was 4-of-15 from the field while the Hawkeyes shot 7-of-13, but Michigan State managed to cut the lead to 14-10 on a pull-up jumper by Jaden Akins.

Michigan State took its first lead at 24-23 on a soaring fastbreak dunk by Hall over Connor McCaffery. AWalkersteal led to a AJ Hoggard assist on the play.

At the break, Akins had 7 points on 3-of-6 shooting as seven different Spartans scored in the first half.