Summers gets No. 2 Spartans by Gonzaga
November 17, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)—Durrell Summers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:02left, made two at the line with 5.7 seconds to go and finished with 21 points tohelp No. 2 Michigan State rally for a 75-71 win over Gonzaga on Tuesday night.
The Spartans (2-0) won their 41st straight game at home against anonconference team, extending a streak that started after a lost to Duke on Dec.3, 2003.
Robert Sacre matched a career high with 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-1)despite foul trouble. Gonzaga freshman Elias Harris scored 17, Matt Bouldin had15 points and Steven Gray added 13.
Kalin Lucas made a layup with 39 seconds left to give Michigan State athree-point lead and finished with 19 points. Raymar Morgan scored 16 off thebench.
Michigan State scored first, then was out played by Gonzaga for much of thegame.
The Bulldogs led by 13 midway through the first half and were ahead 35-30 athalftime.
They built another double-digit lead early in the second half, but were hurtby the 7-foot Sacre getting called for a third foul and 7-5 reserve Will Fostergetting a fourth foul shortly after halftime.
Michigan State freshman Derrick Nix made a putback with 11:52 left in thegame 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 despitehaving one of their youngest teams since becoming one of college basketball’sstronger programs.
Sacre made a shot midway through the second half to put Gonzaga ahead byseven and a fadeaway with 4:42 to go for a 65-61 lead.
The Spartans made enough shots and stops in the final minutes in a game thatwill get them ready to play Florida, North Carolina and Texas before Big Tenplay.
Gonzaga, hoping to reload instead of rebuild, also faces a tough schedulewith games against Wake Forest, Arizona or Wisconsin, Duke, Oklahoma and23rd-ranked Illinois before starting its West Coast Conference slate.
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