Joey Hauser had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead Michigan State to an 89-68 win over visiting Buffalo on Friday in East Lansing, Mich.
Jaden Akins scored 13 points and A.J. Hoggard had 11 points and 10 assists for Michigan State (9-4), which has won four straight.
Malik Hall, in his first game since Nov. 18 following a foot injury, put up 11 points in 12 minutes off the bench, including making both of his 3-point attempts.
The 89 points were a season-high for the Spartans, who shot 50.8 percent from the field (30-of-59) and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range.
Isaiah Adams had 15 points and six rebounds, LaQuill Hardnett had 12 points and seven rebounds and Curtis Jones scored 12 points for Buffalo (6-7). Armoni Foster added 10 points and a team-high five assists.
The Bulls shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field and 31.3 percent from 3-point range (5-of-16).
The Spartans had a 69-58 lead with 8:27 remaining and put the game away from there by going on a 17-2 run to take 26-point lead with 2:43 left.
Michigan State held a 41-30 lead at halftime, but Buffalo started the second half on an 8-0 run with baskets from four different players.
The Spartans answered with a 14-4 run to grab a 54-42 lead with 14:22 left.
Michigan State built its lead to 15 points at 59-44 with 12:44 remaining before Buffalo pulled to within 10 again. Adams hit a 3-pointer with 9:53 left to make it 66-56.
After the teams played to a 9-9 tie early on, Michigan State started to take control. Hall made a 3-pointer in transition and Hauser added a layup to give the Spartans a 21-12 lead with 7:11 left until halftime.
The Spartans then built their lead up to 29-17 with 4:34 to go until halftime.
Buffalo managed to cut its deficit to 30-23 thanks to three-point plays by Foster and Kuluel Mading, but Michigan State answered with five straight to take a 35-23 lead with 3:04 until halftime.
Jones made his second 3-pointer of the day with seven seconds left to bring Buffalo within nine points at halftime.
–Field Level Media
