Michigan State Basketball: Takeaways from close win over Detroit Mercy

Michigan State Basketball had a closer than expected call with Detroit Mercy but was able to avoid the embarrassing upset.

Gabe Brown got his first start of the season for Michigan State Basketball and he made the first basket of the game on a three-pointer from the wing. Ironically his last shot of the game would be very similar.

Rocket Watts and Aaron Henry carried the Spartans early scoring nine of their first 12 points. True Freshmen A.J. Hoggard played early in the first half and made his presence felt early attacking the rim making the layup and he made the free throw to make it a three-point play after being fouled on the play.

Julius Marble who had a career-high game against Duke, played well early and on one sequence on the offensive end, had three straight rebounds before finally making the layup in which the Titans became so frustrated by, they called a timeout immediately after the basket.

The Spartans struggled to score in the first half and Detroit Mercy took a two-point lead with approximately six minutes left in the 1st half after Detroit Mercy’s top player Antoine Davis’s basket gave the Titans a brief two-point lead.

Coach Tom Izzo subbed in a lot of players early and the Spartans were unable to get in sync offensively settling for three-point shots. Michigan State was three for eleven from beyond the arch with under four minutes remaining in the game. The Titans Matt Johnson made a three-pointer to tie the game at 29-29 and Izzo called a timeout to settle his team down and refocus.

Hoggard made a free throw to give the Spartans a one-point lead with under three minutes remaining in the first half. However, Davis would make a layup to give the Titans the lead with just under two minutes in the half. Malik Hall would respond with a three-point play to regain the lead. Watts would make two free throws to help the Spartans hold on to the lead. The Spartans would give up a layup and enter halftime tied at 35 points apiece.

Watts who only played 13 minutes in the first half, led all Spartan scorers with 11 points in the first half. Michigan State’s contributed 11 first-half points lead by Hall and Hoggard. The Spartans only had nine points off of turnovers, five layups, and nine second-half points in the first half. Michigan went into halftime looking to refocus and regroup for the 2nd half.

2nd Half Notes and Takeaways

Bingham set the tone early in the 2nd half with a blocked shot but the Titans Marquell Fraser attacked the basket, made the layup, and then made it a three-point play with a made free throw to temporarily take the lead. Henry and Hauser would both score for the Spartans to regain the lead as Hauser got seven quick points.

Watts also stepped up on both ends of the floor to give the Spartans a 46-41 lead with just over 16 minutes left in the game. However, the Titans Matt Johnson would make two three-pointers from the corner to make it a one-point game.

On a nice assist from Hall, Thomas Kithier was able to make a layup to give the Spartans a 50-47 lead but Detroit Mercy’s big man Willy Isiani would drive to the basket for a layup to make it once again a one-point lead.

Henry would then commit his third foul of the game which put Davis to the line where he made two free throws to give the Titans their first lead of the game. Foster Loyer would make two free throws to cut the Titans lead to one. However, the Titans would extend their lead to five after two consecutive layups.

Watts would then make back to back baskets to cut the Titans lead to one but Detroit Mercy would respond with a made three-pointer by Isiani. Watts would once again be aggressive on the offensive end with Michigan State being down four points and getting to the free-throw line where he would make both of his free throws to make it a two-point game. Loyer then forced a charge giving Michigan State the ball back.

With just over seven minutes left Watts made a contested layup to tie the game up at 62 points apiece. Brown then would race down the court to take a pass from Watts for the layup to give the Spartans a two-point lead. Brown would then make a spectacular floating shot on the baseline to give Michigan State a four-point lead as the Spartans went on an 8-0 run.

Under-five points left in the game, Julius Marble made a shot in the paint and was fouled, and made his free throw to complete the three-point play. After a Davis basket, Marble would get the pass in the paint and made a two-hand dunk to give the Spartans a five-point lead. However, the Titans would score the next two baskets to make it a one-point game.

With under three minutes left in the game, Brown would make a three-pointer from the corner to give the Spartans a six-point lead. Detroit Mercy would cut the Spartans lead to only two points but Marble would put down a two-handed dunk to make it a four-point game. Then Brown with just under 30 seconds left in the game made a corner three-pointer to give the Spartans an 83-76 victory. It was not a pretty or deceive win for Michigan State but a win is a win.

Watts ended the game with 24 points on 8 for 14 shooting with four assists but him going six for six from the free throw was impressive. Brown had 16 points on the night going four for six from beyond the arc which may have been the difference between a loss and a win. Henry may have not had a great offensive night but he ended up with12 points and he quietly pulled down 10 rebounds which were the most out of any Spartan on the night.

It wasn’t expected that Detroit Mercy would give the Spartans everything that they could handle but Izzo made a reference in his post-game press conference the importance of Joshua Langford and him not being able to play tonight affected Michigan State. Also both Brown and Henry were on the court after the game putting up shots and working on their game as they are already preparing for their next opponent which is Western Michigan who they will host in a few days.