EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State started the second half with a 20-3 run on the way to a 74-60 win
over Bowling Green in men’s college basketball action Saturday. The Falcons are now 5-5 while Michigan
State, ranked No. 21 in the nation, is 9-2 having won nine straight.
Bowling Green trailed by two points, 35-33, at the half and the game was tied at 35 on A’uston Calhoun’s
layup before the Spartans pulled away.
MSU’s Brandon Wood hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Branden Dawson added a three-point play for a 41-35
advantage.
Draymond Green added a pair of free throws and Dawson followed with another basket and foul shot to make
it 46-35 during an 11-0 run.
After Bowling Green cut it to eight and appeared set to make it a six-point game, Travis Trice soared to
block a breakaway layup and Green fed Derrick Nix for a transition dunk.
When Nix scored again on an inside move and a no-look pass from Trice, the lead grew to 55-38, ending any
thought of an upset.
“It was just one of those games where the ball wasn’t dropping for us,” head coach Louis Orr said about
BG’s slow start to the second half. BG was 10-of-26 from the floor in the second half. “We didn’t have
as good of possessions in the second half.
“Michigan State is going to turn it up in the second half … and you have to match their intensity,” Orr
added. “They were able to get some scores in transition and in the paint … You know they are going to
make a run, but you have to score points.”
Aided by the strong play of freshman Jehvon Clarke off the bench, BG pulled to within 10, 68-58, on
Torian Oglesby’s dunk with 4:47 remaining in the game. Clarke scored a career-high 14 points and added
three assists while playing 12 minutes.
“I noticed in the first three to five minutes of the second half we didn’t come out the way we expected,”
Clarke said. “I thought coming in and bringing that energy could bring us back in the game. But as you
can see, Michigan State countered our runs.”
After pulling within 10, BG had three turnovers, missed a free throw and was just 1-of-6 from the field
as the Spartans closed things out.
“Jehvon Clarke was outstanding. He carried us, basically offensively … We were having trouble scoring
until he got in the game,” Orr said. “He was attacking the basket, trying to make plays and playing
hard.
“Our veteran guys have to understand when you are playing a team like Michigan State you have to come out
ready to play and compete and you have to be productive especially at the beginning of the second half,”
Orr added.
Bowling Green, the first visiting team to win in Breslin Center in December 1989, had a 25-16 edge in
rebounds over the first 20 minutes, including a 13-5 advantage in offensive boards. Jordon Crawford
scored 10 points in the first half while Calhoun and Oglesby each had six rebounds.
“We played with a lot of energy (in the first half). Torian Oglesby gave us a big lift in that first
half,” Orr said.
Orr added that BG was able to score in transition and limit Michigan State’s second-chance opportunities
while playing pretty good defense in the first 20 minutes.
“I want to give a lot of credit to Bowling Green for getting every loose ball. But we weren’t sharp and
got out-hustled for half of that game,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
Calhoun added 12 points for BG and Crawford 11 finished with 11.
The Spartans had four players in double figures led by Wood’s 16 points, while Green had 12 points, 10
rebounds and six assists. It was his fifth double-double of the season.
NOTES: BG is still winless on the road this season at 0-4 … The Falcons play the third of five straight
road games at Florida International Thursday with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. … Michigan State won the
rebounding battle, 39-37, as BG had only 12 rebounds in the second half … Michigan State shot 27 free
throws to 10 for Bowling Green … Oglesby was hit with a technical foul for the second straight game
… Oglesby finished with nine rebounds … BG scored 36 points in the paint, nine points off turnovers
and 30 points off the bench … There were six ties and eight lead changes.
No. 21 MICHIGAN ST. 74, BOWLING GREEN 60
BOWLING GREEN (5-5)
Calhoun 6-14 0-0 12, Black 0-1 0-0 0, Crawford 4-10 1-2 11, Thomas 3-10 0-0 7, Brown 0-7 0-0 0, Henderson
1-3 0-0 2, Kraus 0-5 0-0 0, Erger 0-1 0-0 0, Clarke 4-5 5-5 14, Orr 1-2 0-0 2, Sealey 1-2 2-3 4, Oglesby
4-4 0-0 8. Totals 24-64 8-10 60.
MICHIGAN ST. (9-2)
Green 4-10 4-5 12, Payne 2-5 2-5 6, Appling 1-4 1-2 3, Dawson 5-6 3-4 13, Wood 5-8 3-3 16, Byrd 1-2 0-0
2, Gauna 0-0 0-0 0, Kearney 0-0 0-0 0, Thornton 1-1 2-2 5, Chapman 0-0 0-0 0, Trice 1-4 0-0 3, Nix 5-13
4-6 14, Ianni 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 19-27 74.
Halftime—Michigan St. 35-33. 3-Point Goals—Bowling Green 4-16 (Crawford 2-3, Clarke 1-2, Thomas 1-4,
Henderson 0-1, Calhoun 0-2, Kraus 0-2, Brown 0-2), Michigan St. 5-11 (Wood 3-5, Thornton 1-1, Trice 1-2,
Appling 0-1, Green 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Bowling Green 37 (Oglesby 9), Michigan St. 39 (Green
10). Assists—Bowling Green 10 (Clarke, Crawford 3), Michigan St. 16 (Green 6). Total Fouls—Bowling Green
21, Michigan St. 16. Technical—Oglesby. A—NA.