EAST LANSING - Freshman forward Raymar Morgan broke up a tightly contested contest in a dazzling display of his enormous talent that one hopes stays in East Lansing for the next two or three years.
Morgan erupted for 15 second-half points on a dizzing array of moves that left the crosstown rival Michigan defenders with no answer.
The 6-foot-7 freshman from Canton, OH. was busy and active in breaking up a two point game, helping to send MSU on a 9-0 run which turned into a 13-4 run and salted away another State victory over UM.
The young forward slashed to the basket and although he missed the shot in the midst of UM's big frontline, he was quicker to the boards and scored on a put back layup. A post up jumper followed by a backdoor cut, converting a sensational one-handed wrap around pass by equally brillant Drew Neitzel and suddenly UM was calling for timeouts in bunches.
Morgan's spectacular second-half effort gives hope that maybe MSU has found a Mr. Inside to go with Neitzel's Mr. Outside. After all, Morgan was on his way to a sensational freshman season before suffering an injury that sidelined him for two weeks.
"This is a huge confidence booster," said Morgan. "We needed to win real bad, we've lost four games in a row. This win is huge, it gets our confidence up and we'll go from here."
Morgan said he didn't want to press although he knew MSU needed him to score.
"The coaches told me to just take my time and let the game come to me a little bit and that's what I tried to do. In the second half, my teammates really got me involved and everything seemed to click."
And the "Captain Morgan" signs began to flash up all over the Breslin Center. MSU will need more of what Morgan brough to the table as they continue to point to the home court in an attempt to return once again to the NCAA tournament.