Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Michigan St. Spartans Box Score on Jan 05, 2021

Aaron Henry scored 20 points and led a suffocating defensive effort as No. 23 Michigan State pulled away to a 68-45 win over No. 15 Rutgers in Big Ten play at East Lansing, Mich. on Tuesday.

Henry had eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals along with shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Rocket Watts and Josh Langford scored 11 points apiece, while Joey Hauser added nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Michigan State (8-3, 2-3 Big Ten) has won two in a row after dropping its first three conference games.

The Spartans overcame 18 turnovers by holding Rutgers (7-3, 3-3) to 30.5 percent shooting and blocking eight shots. Ron Harper Jr. led the Scarlet Knights with 13 points and Jacob Young added 11 but shot 5-for-18 from the field.

Rutgers also struggled from the foul line, making just six of 17 attempts.

The Spartans never trailed in the first half despite committing 14 turnovers. Henry scored 11 points as Michigan State emerged with a 28-22 halftime lead.

Rutgers recorded 11 steals with seven different players making at least one. The Scarlet Knights were stymied by poor shooting. They made just 28.6 percent of their field-goal attempts and two of their nine foul shots. Young was their main offensive source with 10 points.

Montez Mathis made Rutgers' first 3-pointer of the game in the opening minute of the second half. The Spartans were still able to stretch their lead to double digits at 36-25 with a 6-0 spurt that included four Langford points.

Henry's 3-pointer with 12:52 left made it 41-30. Following a 3-pointer by Rutgers' Geo Baker, Watts took over. He went on a personal 6-0 run, including four free throws, as the Spartans led 48-33 midway through the half.

Rutgers couldn't get the deficit into single digits. A Langford layup with six minutes left gave Michigan State a 53-40 lead and he followed that up with a 3-pointer.

Henry reached the 20-point mark with a mid-range jumper from the left side.

The Spartans finished the game on a 17-5 run.

--Field Level Media