Joey Hauser had 20 points and seven rebounds and Michigan State rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Nebraska 80-67 in Lincoln, Neb., on Tuesday night.
Tyson Walker supplied 19 points and Jaden Akins had 17 for the Spartans (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten), who bounced back from an overtime loss to Iowa in which they squandered an 11-point advantage in the final minute of regulation.
A.J. Hoggard contributed 10 points and 14 assists for Michigan State, which shot 67.9 percent from the field in the second half, including a 12-for-17 performance from beyond the 3-point arc.
Keisei Tominaga’s 20 points led the Cornhuskers (15-15, 8-11), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped. Jamarques Lawrence had 15 points, Derrick Walker added 13 and Sam Griesel chipped in 12 along with eight rebounds.
The Cornhuskers raced to a 38-26 halftime lead.
The game was tied at 10-apiece six minutes into the contest. Nebraska then erupted on a 17-2 run. Tominaga had seven points, Griesel supplied six and Lawrence added a pair of baskets during the stretch.
Field goals by Malik Hall and Tyson Walker temporarily halted the Cornhuskers’ surge, but the Spartans trailed by double digits the rest of the half. Derrick Walker converted three layups and a free throw during the last five minutes of the half to protect Nebraska’s double-digit advantage.
Michigan State cut the deficit to seven points early in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Akins. The Spartans pulled within three points just over five minutes into the half on a Hall 3-pointer.
Nebraska answered with a 7-0 run, including five points from Tominaga, to make it 55-45.
The Cornhuskers still led by seven, 56-49, with 11 minutes to go. The Spartans then reeled off 11 unanswered points, including 3-pointers from Hall, Tyson Walker and Hauser.
Tominaga ended the Cornhuskers’ drought with a layup.
Michigan State pushed its lead to eight, 68-60, on a Hauser 3-pointer and a Mady Sissoko dunk. After a Nebraska free throw, the Spartans took control as Tyson Walker went on a personal 7-0 run for a 75-61 lead.
–Field Level Media
