STATE COLLEGE, PA – Michigan State took care of business Wednesday night at the expense of the Penn State Nittany Lions with an impressive 84-58 road victory in the first Big Ten game for both schools.
Alan Anderson led the way with 17 points, while Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager totaled 16 and 12, respectively, for the 20th ranked Spartans who now move to 9-2 on the season (1-0 in the Big Ten).
Michigan State once again displayed high powered efficiency on offense, shooting a combined 30-of-59 (.508) from the field and 16-of-17 from the charity stripe.
In addition to Anderson, Brown and Ager reaching double figures in points, it was a milestone night for Senior Forward Kelvin Torbert. Torbert, scored his 1,000 career point on a dunk midway through the second half and finished with 11 points, all of which came after the break.
Penn State (6-8, 0-1) was led in scoring by 6’ 9” Freshman Forward Geary Claxton’s career-high 20 points. The Nittany Lions also got 13 points and a game-high 9 rebounds from Junior Aaron Johnson.
The Lions held tough through much of the first half, leading by as many as five points at one spot. However, it would not last long as Michigan State rolled off a 17-to-2 run late in the first half and held a 30-18 lead at intermission.
Penn State never threatened again, hitting only eight field goals after the break, as the Spartans outscored them 44-28 in the second half. Michigan State also forced the Nittany Lions into a season-high 20 turnovers, turning those miscues into 33 points for themselves.
The win was Michigan State's sixth in a row, while Penn State lost for the sixth time in seven tries.
Michigan State finished the game with a 33-28 rebounding edge, led by Junior Paul Davis, who grabbed 8. Chris Hill led the Spartans in the assist department with 6.
Next up for Michigan State is a 2.p.m. Saturday tip-off versus the Northwestern Wildcats at the Breslin Center.