Michigan State Basketball only dressed 10 players for the game but the Spartans were able to defeat a team coached by legendary coach Tubby Smith.
The Spartans struggled early offensively
Michigan State missed their first seven field-goal attempts and didn’t score their first points until Joey Hauser made a layup at the 15:11 mark. The Spartans then got a basket from Julius Marble and Gabe Brown on the next Spartan possession made a three-pointer with just over 14 minutes remaining in the first half to give Michigan State a 7-3 lead. Malik Hall came off the bench and made a contested layup with around 13 minutes remaining in the half to give the Spartans a 9-5 lead.
High Point went to a 2-3 zone with approximately 11 minutes left in the first half but Marble was able to make a jump hook to make it a 13-10 game. The Panthers however on the next possession made a three-pointer to tie the game at 13 points apiece. Hall though made a timely three-pointer to give the Spartans a 20-15 lead after High Point had cut Michigan State’s lead to only two points with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half of play.
The Spartans only had 34 first-half points and trailed by one at the half. Michigan State was 12 for 34 in the first half from the field and made only four of their twelve three-point attempts as well. The Michigan State offense was more efficient and productive in the second half.
Julius Marble, Joey Hauser, and Malik Hall stepped up with Marcus Bingham and Max Christie not being able
Marble was one of the few bright spots offensively for the Spartans in the first half when he made his first three shot attempts for six points and Hall had five early first-half points as well. Hauser made his first four free throw attempts in the game and had six rebounds early in the game to lead the Spartans. At the end of the first half, Marble had eight points with four rebounds and Hauser had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Hauser made his first three-pointers of the second half and gave the Spartans a 42-37 lead. Hall also made his presence known early in the second half when he made a tough layup to give Michigan State a 46-41 lead. Marble also contributed early in the second half as well when he made a layup to give the Spartans a 49-45 lead. Hall later in the game made a much needed basket to give the Michigan State a 67-61 lead and then he had a span with just over four minutes remaining in the game where he made two free throws and then made a timely basket to give the Spartans a 11 point lead.
Hauser ended the game with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists while Marble had 10 points and five rebounds. Hall finished the game with 13 points, five assists, and three rebounds to help the Spartans defeat High Point by a final score of 81-68.
Michigan State played better on both ends of the court in the second half lead by Gabe Brown
On the first possession of the second half, Hauser made a three-pointer to give the Spartans back the lead and got the rebound off of the Panthers’ first second-half possession as well. Brown then was fouled on a contested lay-up attempt and he made both of his free throws to give Michigan State a 39-35 lead. The Panthers did not score their first points of the second half until just under the 17-minute mark.
The Spartans were more aggressive offensively in the second half and an example is when A.J. Hoggard drove and made a contested layup to give the Spartans a 44-41 lead. He then later made another layup to give the Spartans a 51-50 lead and Brown on the next offensive possession made a three-pointer from the wing to give Michigan State a four-point lead. The Spartans as the second half went on, kept on getting better and better on both ends of the floor.
Tyson Walker made a three from the corner to give the Spartans a three-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the game and then Brown on the next offensive possession made a three to make it a six-point Spartan lead. Brown also kept shooting and made another three-pointer to make it a 65-58 Michigan State lead and he was not done when he made yet another second-half three-pointer to give the Spartans a nine-point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Jaden Akins made a corner three to give Michigan State their biggest lead of the game when the Spartans went up 79-66 with just under two minutes remaining in the game. Michigan State would end up outscoring High Point by a 47 to 33 point margin to give the Spartans a 13 point victory and their 11th win of the season and their sixth straight victory on the season.