Michigan State falters at the free-throw line, falls to Minnesota, 59-56

Michigan State had won 10 of the last 13 games entering tonight but fell short at Minnesota, 59-56. A late rally for the Gophers give them the win at the Barn.

It was a quick start for the Spartans as it did not take long for MSU to get on the board, scoring five points in the first minute. Malik Hall started off making two field goals to extend the lead to 10-7, but the Gophers had answers in the first five minutes to keep the Spartan lead to one.

Parker Fox's block on Tyson Walker with 14:27 left in the first half sent Walker to the floor shaken up and the Gophers took their first lead off a Cam Christie three pointer, 12-10. Michigan State committed four turnovers over a five possession stretch and the Gophers extended their lead to five with 11:40 to go in the first half.

Missed free throws continued to be a struggle for Michigan State as Malik Hall was only able to convert one of his four attempts in a stretch of first half play; he then gave up a three-point play to Fox at the other end of the court. The 13-3 run for Minnesota created a seven-point lead with ten minutes to go in the first half, 20-13.

Five straight points from Tyson Walker cut the Minnesota lead to two and Xavier Booker added two free throws to make it a 22-20 game with 6:58 to go in the first half. The Gophers relied heavily on the three ball in the first half, shooting 15 times.

Michigan State and Minnesota exchanged threes, tying the game at 27 with under three minutes to go in the half. After multiple empty possessions from both teams, Jaden Akins and Tyson Walker made baskets to give the Spartans a 32-27 halftime lead.

Walker, Akins, and Hall combined for 26 of MSU's 32 first-half points. Despite seven first half turnovers, MSU carried a five point lead into the half.

Tyson Walker picked up where he left off with the first points of the second half at 18:47 to extend MSU's lead to seven. The Gophers were not going to go away easily however, cutting into the Spartan lead with a Cam Christie three-pointer, 34-32.

Akins and Tre Holloman both added baskets to give the Spartans a 45-36 lead. Akins ability to score from inside and outside the three point line proved to be a problem for the Golden Gophers. However, once the lead reached nine, the Gophers called a timeout, made some adjustments, and went on a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead.

Tyson Walker's basket to retake the lead for MSU stopped the 10-0 run for the Gophers, but Pharrel Payne was able to hit two free throws to re-claim the lead, 48-47.

Malik Hall's free throw struggles continued, missing two with 5:35 to go, keeping the Gopher lead at one. Some great ball movement from MSU lead Jaden Akins to a wide open three to give the Spartans back the lead, 50-48.

After a pair of missed free throws from both teams, Cam Christie continued his great shooting night and gave the Gophers a 51-50 lead. He finished with 19 points, finishing five of six from behind the arc.

At 52-52 with 2:19 to go, Tom Izzo called a timeout to draw a play up for the Spartans. This resulted in a Tyson Walker contested three that was off the mark. The Gophers rebounded the ball and answered with a three of their own to take the 55-52 lead.

AJ Hoggard was fouled attempting a three point shot to tie the game with 20.2 seconds left. Hoggard made the first two free throws to cut the Minnesota lead to one but couldn't get the third one to drop. The Spartans finished the game shooting 7 of 17 from the charity stripe. Cam Christie hit two more free throws to make it a three-point game with 18.5 seconds left.

In the final possession, AJ Hoggard missed a lay-up and the Gophers put the game on ice with two free throws. A Tyson Walker lay-up made the final score, 59-56.

The Spartans drop to 14-9 with their next game against Illinois this Saturday at 2pm at the Breslin Center.

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