EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State gave up a basket, and Nick Ward immediately took off. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward beat everyone down the court and took a long pass for a layup.
Ward scored 22 of his 28 points in a nearly perfect first half to help the ninth-ranked Spartans rout Green Bay 104-83 on Sunday night. Ward made all nine of his field goal attempts in the first half, although he did miss a free throw. He was particularly impressive in transition and appeared to relish an up-tempo game.
"I've been doing that since forever, since I was little," Ward said. "That's just off of pure effort. Running takes no skill."
Ward also made his first two shots of the second half and finished 12 of 13.
Sandy Cohen III scored 22 points for Green Bay, which actually led 24-20 before a 27-4 run by Michigan State. The Phoenix (6-6) had only one timeout left by halftime, but nothing they tried was enough to slow the Spartans.
Michigan State (9-2) made its last seven shots of the first half to take a 64-35 lead.
"This is a hard game for us, because we play fast, they play fast, and they're just faster," Green Bay Coach Linc Darner said. "But I thought the second half, our guys did a great job of battling and competing and staying respectable."
The low point for the Phoenix was probably the end of the first half. Cassius Winston made a layup in the final seconds for Michigan State, and there was enough time for Xavier Tillman to steal the ball and add a three-pointer .
For a while, the Spartans appeared to have a chance to break the school record of 121 points. They had 75 with 15 minutes remaining, but they couldn't keep up that pace and were outscored 48-40 in the second half.
NO. 24 HOUSTON 68, SAINT LOUIS 64
HOUSTON -- Corey Davis Jr. hit the tiebreaking three-pointer with 29 seconds left and had 17 points in Houston's comeback victory over Saint Louis.
Davis was 3 of 5 from three-point range and hit all 6 of his free throws. Armoni Brooks had 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Galen Robinson Jr. added 13 for Houston (10-0) in its 23rd straight at home.
Javon Bess had 17 points for Saint Louis (7-3), Tramaine Isabell Jr. added 16, and Jordan Goodwin had 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Billikens 37 percent from the field.
Sports on 12/17/2018