Michigan State looked to shrug off a rough loss to Iowa as it hosted Ohio State on Sunday, but instead the Spartans suffered heartbreak after blowing a double-digit lead late in the game. The Buckeyes delivered the fatal blow at the buzzer as Dale Bonner drained a trey for a 60-57 victory for the visitors.
MSU made a notable change in its starting lineup as freshman big Xavier Booker got the nod to enter the lineup and played 12 of his 17 minutes in the first half. Booker finished the game with seven points, three blocks, and three rebounds finishing the game 3-for-6 from the field and 1-for-3 from deep.
Malik Hall led the Spartans in both scoring and rebounds with 15 points and seven boards, finishing the day a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and 5-for-9 from the field.
Tyson Walker struggled with shooting Sunday, finishing just 5-for-15 from the field with 12 points. No other Spartan finished the day with double-figures in scoring.
Meanwhile, four Buckeyes finished in double figures led by Devin Royal's 14 points. OSU also bested MSU on the glass to a 39-33 advantage, including 13 offensive boards that led to 14 second chance points for the Buckeyes.
Despite falling apart down the final stretch, Michigan State started off strong on Sunday at home. The Spartans opened up a six-point lead thanks to a trey by Hall around two and a half minutes into play.
Not long thereafter, Booker nailed a 3-pointer as well to send the Spartans into the first media break with a five-point advantage.
Throughout the first half, though, MSU maintained a narrow lead until the closing minutes when it started to finally push past OSU's ability to keep it close, opening up a 10-point advantage in the final minute to head into the locker room at the half up 32-22.
The Buckeyes struggled offensively in the opening half, shooting just 10% from deep and a paltry 7-for-29 from the field overall. OSU didn't manage to score a field goal on back-to-back possessions the entire half. Michigan State finished the half with 11 of its eventual 22 fast break points while shooting 44.4% from from 3-point range and allowed just four points by OSU off 10 Spartan turnovers.
The second half was much the same story for Michigan State early as the Spartans opened up a 12-point lead twice in the first minute and a half of action. The Buckeyes managed to keep the Spartans from running away with it, but Ohio State couldn't cut it any closer than six midway between the first and second media timeouts of the half.
MSU seemed like it would rally as a Coen Carr dunk off an OSU turnover coming out of the second media break brought the fans to their feet at the Breslin Center and pushed the Spartans back out to a 12-point advantage with 11:56 remaining.
Instead, Ohio State mounted a 15-4 run to bring it within one with 6:02 left in the game. As Michigan State saw its double-digit lead evaporate, head coach Tom Izzo called for a timeout to try and stem the bleeding.
The Spartans managed to hold onto their narrow lead down the stretch, finding an answer for each score by the Buckeyes. That was until A.J. Hoggard was called for the shooting foul against OSU's Roddy Gayle, Jr. with just :11 seconds remaining. Gayle hit both free throws to give Ohio State its first lead of the game, up 57-56.
Walker had the chance to get the lead back with :06 remaining and two free throws, but he missed the first. With the game tied at 57-57, OSU had the final possession and Bonner made sure it hurt as he drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the win from near the corner in front of his team's bench.
MSU falls to 17-11 overall and 9-9 in Big Ten play with just three games remaining in the regular season. The Spartans have a week off before heading to West Lafayette to take on Purdue next.
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