Michigan State Basketball blew out Maryland at the Xfinity Center, 78-66, in a critical Big Ten game. Here is a game recap.
Michigan State basketball handled Maryland at the Xfinity Center in a strong 78-66 victory. Malik Hall scored sixteen points, shooting 5/5 from the floor. Rocket Watts played excellent defense against Anthony Cowan Jr. and delivered clutch buckets. This was a quality road win for Michigan State.
First Half
Aaron Henry scored the first points of this game. Malik Hall followed up with a tightly contested layup. Xavier Tillman blocked a shot which led to a Cassius Winston dime to Hall. Another defensive stop leads to a Rocket Watts corner three. What do you know, the Spartans are off to a strong start on the road.
Malik Hall hit another jumper, putting up six points in less than three minutes. Then, Hall found a wide-open Aaron Henry for a three-point shot. Jalen Smith hit a three, injecting life into the Maryland crowd. Cassius Winston answered right back with a three-pointer of his own. The Spartans led the Terpins 17-5 in the first five minutes.
Maryland scored seven points in the next three minutes, cutting the deficit to five. Luckily, Cassius hit two free-throws to give MSU some space. Both teams exchanged buckets until Maryland tied the game with a three. Xavier Tillman grabbed a tough offensive rebound and scored down low, putting MSU back ahead 25-23 with nine minutes left in the first half.
Cassius Winston scored five points in three possessions, building the lead to seven points. Neither team scored for the next four minutes. Finally, Tillman converted on a low post opportunity. The Spartans scored on consecutive possessions, bringing the lead back out to eight points. Then, Winston hit a crazy, half-court shot to close the half.
Michigan State closed the half ahead 40-29, holding Anthony Cowan Jr. to only six points.
Second Half
Rocket Watts hit a mid-range jumper to start the half. Cassius Winston found Xavier Tillman for a bucket at the rim. Aaron Henry converted on an and-one opportunity. Then, Rocket Watts found Tillman for another easy layup. Michigan State now ahead by 16 points with 17 minutes remaining.
Winston found plenty of space and hit a three-pointer. Maryland answered right back with a bucket from deep. Winston then threw a successful alley-oop to Tillman. The Spartans went 7/7 to start the second half.
Maryland freshman Hakim Hart hit a corner three, cutting the lead to 13 points. Xavier Tillman grabbed an offensive board and found Hall for a three-pointer. Michigan State maintained its lead through exceptional defense.
Gabe Brown grabbed an offensive board and found Rocket Watts all alone beyond the arc. One play later, Tillman scored down in the paint. MSU ahead 66-49 with less than ten minutes left in the game.
Jalen Smith scored in the post on Thomas Kithier, drawing a foul in the process. Marcus Bingham Jr. made his way into the game and took it to Smith after a heated defensive play. This resulted in double technicals for both Bingham Jr. & Smith.
Rocket Watts ended an 8-0 Maryland run with a wide-open three-point shot. He then scored on mid-range pull-up, hushing all Terpins fans in the crowd. Maryland cut the Spartan lead down to 11 points with five minutes left in the game.
Cassius Winston hit a corner three and was fouled on the play. This extended MSU’s lead to thirteen. Hakim Hart scored on a transition layup, cutting the Spartan lead down to 10 yet again with less than three minutes remaining.
Aaron Henry had a huge block down low. Unfortunately, Cassius Winston turned the ball over for the second consecutive possession. Henry then clamped up Anthony Cowan Jr. in a clutch moment.
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