Zags come close, but can't upset No. 2 Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State's winning streak at home against nonconference teams was in jeopardy.

The second-ranked Spartans — and their fans — refused to let it end against Gonzaga.

Durrell Summers hit a go-ahead three-pointer with a few minutes left, made two at the line in the final seconds and finished with 21 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to help Michigan State rally for a 75-71 win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.

"It was the kind of game we needed, especially this early in the year," Summers said.

The Spartans (2-0) won their 41st straight game at home against a nonconference team, extending a streak that started after a loss to Duke on Dec. 3, 2003.

Robert Sacre matched a career high with 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-1) despite playing just 19 minutes.

"He was really making a difference in there, then his minutes got limited because of the fouls," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "That hurt us."

Gonzaga freshman Elias Harris scored 17, Matt Bouldin had 15 points and Bainbridge native Steven Gray added 13.

Kalin Lucas made a layup with 39 seconds left to give Michigan State a three-point lead and finished with 19 points.

Raymar Morgan scored 16 off the bench despite playing on a sprained left ankle and injuring his right ankle in the first half.

The Bulldogs led by 13 midway through the first half and were ahead 35-30 at halftime. They built another double-digit lead early in the second half, but were hurt by the 7-foot Sacre getting called for a third foul and 7-5 reserve Will Foster getting a fourth foul shortly after halftime.

Michigan State freshman Derrick Nix made a putback with 11:52 left in the game to put the home team ahead for the first time since the opening minute.

The Bulldogs, though, refused to wilt in the raucous Breslin Center despite having one of their youngest teams since becoming one of the nation's stronger programs.

"It's a big win for us because we didn't play real well," Izzo said. "Gonzaga took it to us for at least 30 minutes.

"They punched us in the mouth, picked us off the ground and punched us again early — and I thought we were ready to play."

Few said he had mixed emotions about the game because the Bulldogs had a shot at pulling off an upset, but he went home proud.

"There's a lot of positives we can take out of this, certainly how we competed," Few said.

Box score

GONZAGA (71)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Sacre	19	7-12	3-3	0-4	0	4	17
Goodson	27	0-5	1-2	1-1	1	2	1
Bouldin	39	5-15	3-3	1-3	4	1	15
Harris	31	6-16	4-7	3-9	1	4	17
Gray	38	3-14	6-6	2-5	4	1	13
Arop	2	0-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Vilarino	13	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	3	2
Olynyk	19	2-4	0-0	2-3	1	5	4
Poling	0	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Foster	12	1-1	0-0	1-3	1	4	2
	200	25-70	17-21	15-38	12	24	71

Percentages: FG .357, FT .810. Three-point goals: 4-18, .222 (Bouldin 2-7, Harris 1-2, Gray 1-8, Goodson 0-1). Team rebounds: 8. Blocks: 3 (Gray 3). Turnovers: 11 (Bouldin 4, Gray 2, Harris 2, Goodson 2, Foster). Steals: 9 (Harris 3, Gray 2, Olynyk, Vilarino, Bouldin, Goodson). Technicals: None.

MICHIGAN ST. (75)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Lucas	36	7-16	3-5	1-4	5	1	19
Allen	30	2-7	1-1	1-3	4	1	5
Roe	12	0-1	0-0	1-5	0	5	0
Summers	32	8-9	4-4	1-11	1	3	21
Sherman	10	2-3	0-0	0-0	0	2	4
Morgan	22	3-8	10-11	2-5	2	5	16
Dahlman	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Green	25	1-4	4-6	2-10	1	4	6
Lucious	16	0-4	0-0	0-0	2	1	0
Nix	16	2-5	0-4	4-5	0	0	4
	200	25-57	22-31	13-44	15	22	75

Percentages: FG .439, FT .710. Three-point goals: 3-11, .273 (Lucas 2-5, Summers 1-1, Allen 0-1, Morgan 0-1, Lucious 0-3). Team rebounds: 1. Blocks: 5 (Nix 3, Summers, Green). Turnovers: 20 (Green 5, Roe 4, Lucas 3, Summers 3, Allen 2, Morgan 2, Nix). Steals: 6 (Morgan 2, Green, Summers, Allen, Lucas). Technicals: None.

Gonzaga	35	36	—	71
Michigan St.	30	45	—	75

Attendance: 14,759. Officials: Michael Eggers, Brian Rood, Rick Bastell.