Savannah State Tigers vs Michigan St. Spartans Box Score on Dec 31, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 31, 2017

EAST LANSING. Mich. -- Sophomore center Nick Ward scored 21 points on 9 of 9 shooting from the field and added 10 rebounds to lead No. 2 Michigan State to a 108-52 win over Savannah State in the final nonconference game of the regular season for the Spartans.

Sophomore forward Miles Bridges had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, sophomore guard Cassius Winston scored 16 points and had a career-high 13 assists, and junior guard Matt McQuaid added 14 points for the Spartans.

Michigan State (14-1) has now won 13 straight games since a loss to Duke on Nov. 14 and will likely enter the new year as the nation's No. 1-ranked team following Villanova's loss to Butler on Saturday.

A team that entered the game leading the nation in 3-point attempts (563 through 14 games), Savannah State gave Michigan State a battle in the first half, taking a 20-18 lead with 11:17 remaining and was only down 37-36 with 4:22 left in the first half on the strength of eight made shots from 3-point range.

But Michigan State took control from there, ending the first half on a 14-2 run to take a 51-38 lead at intermission and building its lead up to 40 points at 92-52 with 5:55 remaining.

Already 2-0 in Big Ten play, Michigan State will resume conference play when it hosts Maryland on Thursday.

Junior guard Dexter McClanahan had 14 points to lead Savannah State (3-12), which played its sixth ranked opponent of the season already.

NOTES: Michigan State scored 100 points or more for the fourth consecutive game, the first time the Spartans have done that in school history. ... Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 1 in the country in field-goal percentage defense at 33.3 percent and in blocked shots per game at 8.4. The Spartans were also ranked No. 2 nationally in rebounding margin at 12.6. ... Savannah State was playing the fifth of seven consecutive road games. The Tigers will play at Coppin State on Jan. 6 and at Morgan State on Jan. 8 before returning home to play UMES on Jan. 13. ... Michigan State was playing the fourth of five consecutive home games. The Spartans will wrap up their homestand on with a game against Maryland before playing at Ohio State on Sunday. ... After this season, Savannah State won't be competing in Division I. This past April, administration at the school decided to move the athletics program down to Division II starting with the 2018-19 season. Savannah State first moved from Division II to Division 1 in 1998. ... Michigan State improved to 8-0 at home this season. ... This was the first all-time meeting between Michigan State and Savannah State.