It was a struggle for the first 25 minutes, but the Michigan State Spartans used a 19-0 second-half run to eventually blow out the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 73-55.

The Spartans had balanced scoring. Malik Hall finished the game with a game-high 15 points and six rebounds. Tyson Walker contributed 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Walker also moved into a tie with Denzel Valentine for second place in the Tom Izzo era with his 28th consecutive game scoring in the double-digits. He trails only Kalin Lucas (33 games).

Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman both chipped in nine points on identical 3-for-6 shooting from deep. A.J. Hoggard scored seven points. Hoggard and Holloman both logged six assists, while Mady Sissoko led the Spartans with seven rebounds.

The game was also highlighted by the first career points from walk-on Steven Izzo. The graduate senior son of the head coach checked into the game with 54 seconds remaining. He got his man in the air on the baseline and hit the basket to get into the scoring column, while also drawing the foul. Izzo then hit a free throw to earn his third career point.

The first half was a defensive struggle as neither team shot the ball well overall, and Michigan State struggled with ball security. Both teams shot below 40% from the field and the Spartans turned the ball over seven times. Both teams had stretches of over five minutes with no made field goals in the first half.

The Spartans got out to an early five-point lead in the first five minutes of the game. But Michigan State went with a strange lineup featuring Xavier Booker, Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler, Holloman and Hoggard, and the defense appeared to suffer.

Rutgers went on an 11-3 run, thanks to a 3-pointer and several easy baskets at the rim. The Spartans trailed by three points with nine minutes remaining in the first stanza.

But the Spartans were able to hit four 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the half, many of which were created off offensive rebounds to regain the lead. The Spartans snagged eight offensive rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points for the game.

Walker struggled with his shot early and missed five of his first six shots of the half. But Walker finished the first half strong, scoring at the rim and hitting a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 28-22 lead at halftime.

Walker led all scorers at the break with 10 points. After going scoreless last time out versus Illinois, Holloman had six points on two deep balls at the half and provided an important spark off the bench. Hall contributed five points at the half.

But Rutgers would not go down easily. The Scarlet Knights went on an early 12-1 run in the first five minutes of the second half. The Spartans saw a nine-point lead convert into a one-point deficit in the blink of an eye.

The Spartans would respond. Akins hit a 3-pointer with 14:54 left. Rutgers responded with a layup. Then the aforementioned 19-0 run that essentially put the game away transpired. Six different Spartans scored over a four-and-a-half-minute span, including a pair of transition triples from Walker and Holloman and a pair of dunks from Carson Cooper and Carr.

Michigan State also locked Rutgers down on the other end of the floor, holding the Scarlet Knights scoreless from the field for over seven minutes.

With 9:33 to play, Carr completed a 3-point play to put the Spartans up by 18 points. The Scarlet Knights would not get closer than 13 points for the rest of the game.

In addition to the first points scored by Izzo, Kohler also scored his first two points of the year. Booker was also able to connect on a 3-pointer in the final two minutes of the game.

With the win over Rutgers, the Spartans moved to 2-4 in Big Ten play. Michigan State returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 18 with a home game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.

For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.