Michigan State knew that if they were going to continue to make a bid for the Big Ten title, they couldn’t drop three in a row to a Big Ten opponent.
That determination certainly showed today.
Freshman Branden Dawson scored a season high 14 points as Michigan State routed the Purdue Boilermakers 83-58 Saturday from the Breslin Center.
The Spartans were able to gain the lead when Brandon Wood hit a three pointer with a little over five minutes left in the first half and didn’t give up the lead from there.
State was then able to take a seven point lead at the half before building a 23 point lead midway through the second.
Michigan State’s defense was pretty strong the entire game holding all Purdue shooters to single digit scoring before Lewis Jackson made two free throws with 7:23 left in the game.
Aside from Michigan State’s strong finish both teams started out sloppy.
Purdue was able to take the lead early when they scored the first points of the game nearly 3 minutes after the opening tip-off. The struggles for Purdue however continued as it took them more than three minutes to score in the second half. In the end the Boilermakers shot 29 percent from the field while the Spartans finished with 60 percent.
This win for Michigan State also snaps a two game home losing streak to Purdue who beat them by 20 (67-47) in their last meeting from the Breslin Center.
Ref: Freep.com, Chicago Tribune (image)
