Michigan State basketball lost its final exhibition game at UConn on Tuesday night. The Spartans trailed throughout but made it interesting late in the defeat.
Here’s the game recap from the Spartans and Huskies:
Final Score: MSU – 69, UConn – 76
Poor first half is too much for the Spartans to overcome in this exhibition against the Huskies.
Four Spartans (Jeremy Fears, Carson Cooper, Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler) reached double-digits in points, led by Fears’ 14 points. Kohler and Cooper had double-doubles in the loss.
Michigan State finished the preseason 1-1 and will open the regular season against Colgate on Monday.
MSU – 62, UConn – 76 with 1:56 left in 2nd Half
UConn responds with a run of its own, scoring the next five points and putting the game on ice it seems. Carr missed three straight free throws during this Huskies run.
MSU – 62, UConn – 71 with 3:31 left in 2nd Half
Don’t look now, but we may have a game in Hartford.
Michigan State is on a 7-0 run, and Carr is heading to the free throw line to potentially complete a 3-point play. The Spartans have played better defense and starting to get some offense going late in this exhibition game.
MSU – 52, UConn – 67 with 7:40 left in 2nd Half
Play has picked up. The Spartans are doing a better job on the glass with some hustle offensive rebounds. But shots still aren’t dropping enough for them to claw back into this game.
MSU – 49, UConn – 63 with 10:06 left in 2nd Half
UConn’s run continued after the last media timeout. The Huskies hit another 3-pointer and pushed their lead to 19. Michigan State has cut into that lead thanks to some good minutes from Jaxon Kohler, who has scored the last five points for the Spartans.
MSU – 44, UConn – 60 with 12:10 left in 2nd Half
Michigan State had cut the Huskies lead to single-digits, but UConn’s 8-0 run built its largest lead of the game. The Huskies hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of this run, leading to Tom Izzo calling a timeout.
MSU – 42, UConn – 52 with 14:51 left in 2nd Half
The second half has started similarly to the first: very choppy play with plenty of fouls.
Michigan State cut into the Huskies’ lead, getting the game back to single digits on a Coen Carr 3-pointer. But UConn responded on the other end to push the lead to 10 before the first media timeout of the second half. It’ll be Huskies’ ball out of the media break.
MSU – 33, UConn – 44 at Halftime
Fears knocks down a runner at the buzzer to cut the Huskies’ lead to 11 points at the break.
It was an ugly half on both ends for the Spartans, and this margin could be even worse. Michigan State shot 35% from the field, including two of eight from behind the arc. It also committed eight turnovers offensively.
On the Spartans’ defensive end, UConn shot 43% from the field and holds a 20-to-14 advantage on the boards. There really weren’t many positives for Michigan State to take away from the opening half, but luckily this is just an exhibition game.
Fears leads the Spartans in scoring with nine points and three assists. Carson Cooper is also quietly having a strong night with six points and seven rebounds in the first half.
MSU – 23, UConn – 36 with 3:22 left in 1st Half
Both teams have started to get more offensive momentum but some of that is thanks to a lot of foul calls on both ends. Of the 23 points Michigan State has in the first half, 13 have came from the free throw line and Jeremy Fears Jr. is heading back to there after the media timeout.
Big final three minutes before half for Michigan State to keep this exhibition game in striking distance.
MSU – 11, UConn – 24 with 7:50 left in 1st Half
Spartans offense has been atrocious so far tonight. Michigan State is shooting 15% from the field on 13 field goal attempts and has committed five turnovers. Michigan State has yet to score a two-point field goal at this point as well.
If things don’t turn for the better quickly, this game could be out of reach by halftime.
MSU – 7, UConn – 16 with 11:58 left in 1st Half
Michigan State offense has finally picked up a bit, but the Huskies’ lead has grown across the last four minutes. Second media timeout is about over and play is about to resume.
First Spartans bucket from Trey Fort
Trey Fort knocked down a three-pointer for the Spartans’ first field goal of the game. That bucket cut the UConn lead to four points, but UConn has since bumped the score to 13-4 with 13:23 to go in the first half.
MSU – 1, UConn – 8 with 15:56 left in 1st Half
Huskies have jumped out to an early lead at the first media timeout. The Spartans’ lone point has came from a free throw made by Kur Teng.
Starters announced for both teams
The starters for this exhibition game have been announced — see both team’s starting five listed in the social media post below:
This is the same starting five the Spartans rolled with in last week’s exhibition opener against Bowling Green.
Tipoff is right around the corner.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State men’s basketball loses exhibition game at UConn: Highlights
Reporting by Robert Bondy, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
