GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Paul Davis staged his own second-half
rally for the second straight game.
Michigan State's senior center scored 17 of his game-high 23
points in the final 20 minutes Saturday to lead the Spartans (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP)
to a 72-67 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock at Van Andel Arena.
"In the first half, I didn't play well, and as a team we didn't
play well," Davis said. "I felt it was my responsibility to get
myself and my team rolling."
Davis scored the first nine points of the second half for
Michigan State (5-2), sparking a 16-3 run that broke a 30-30
halftime tie with the Trojans (3-2).
In Wednesday's 88-86 victory over Georgia Tech, Davis scored 19
of his 22 points after the break.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was pleased with Davis and the
play of point guard Drew Neitzel, who had nine points and a
career-high nine assists in front of 11,654 home fans.
But Izzo was not enthused, for the second straight contest,
about his team's overall toughness.
"They played with a tenacity that we're really just missing
yet," Izzo said of Arkansas-Little Rock, which outrebounded the
much bigger Spartans 29-25. "Our rebounding and toughness is where
it's at, and it's not where it needs to be."
Maurice Ager scored 22 points and Shannon Brown had 14 for
Michigan State. Lekheythan Malone led Arkansas-Little Rock with 19
points. Elijah Muldrow had 15, Zack Wright scored 14 and Rashad
Jones-Jennings had 10.
The Trojans pulled within five points several times in the final
20 minutes, but the Spartans fended them off with timely stops and
baskets. Michigan State shot 57.9 percent from the field in the
second half, but had just eight fast-break points in the game.
"I was very proud of our guys' effort, focus and intensity
level," Arkansas-Little Rock coach Steve Shields said. "Our
transition defense had to be as good as it's ever been."
After Davis left with his fourth foul and 3:26 left, Matt
Trannon had a key inside basket for Michigan State for a 64-56 lead
with 3:08 to play. Trannon, a receiver on the Spartans' football
team, was playing in his first basketball game this season.
Arkansas-Little Rock led 23-16 with 6:54 left in the first half
after three free throws, one on a technical foul on Izzo for
protesting a foul call.
The Spartans seemed to wake up from there, going on a 9-0 run to
retake the lead. Neitzel had a pair of baskets during the spurt.
His driving layup ended a field-goal drought of more than four
minutes. Ager's steal and breakaway dunk put the Spartans back up,
25-23.