Michigan State survived a scare from Oakland, ultimately winning their annual matchup 77-58. The Spartans faced a tougher-than-expected challenge from the Golden Grizzlies, who shot well from three-point range in the first half.
It wasn't ideal, but No. 20 Michigan State kept its win streak alive by defeating Oakland in the latest chapter of what has been an annual meeting between the in-state programs. The Spartans found themselves struggling against the Golden Grizzlies more than the Michigan State faithful probably anticipated them to in Tuesday's contest at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, but ultimately, thanks to a late scoring outbreak, the Spartans downed Oakland yet again, this time by a score of 77-58.
The Grizzlies, who had shot just 23.3% from deep heading into Tuesday's matchup, made six baskets from beyond the arc in the first half, a huge reason they were able to be within a point of the Spartans at halftime. Michigan State started the game with an early 4-0 advantage, but its lead only got as large as 6 points in the first half. It went into the break with merely a 31-30 advantage, as Oakland's zone defense proved to be effective against the Spartans through the first 20 minutes, as Michigan State turned the ball over eight times and was unable to ever get into a consistent scoring rhythm. The Spartans made four 3-pointers in the first half, two from senior guard Jaden Akins and another pair from sophomore forward Xavier Booker, who ultimately went 3-of-5 from deep in the contest and led all scorers with a career-high 18 points. Michigan State looked like it was about to be on its way to breaking away, as a 7-point lead early in the second half would stretch to a 10-point lead with a triple from freshman guard Jase Richardson. But Oakland quickly battled back, as back-to-back 3s from Grizzlies guard Malco Christie helped it eventually pull back to within 3 points. Christie made four triples in the contest, though, that still wasn't a game-high; his teammate, forward DQ Cole, finished with five. But that run didn't deter the Spartans, who put together their own, putting themselves back up by 10 less than 2 minutes late
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