03/05/26 09:35:00
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03/05 21:34 CST No. 8 Michigan State beats Rutgers 91-87 before closing regular
season at No. 3 Michigan
No. 8 Michigan State beats Rutgers 91-87 before closing regular season at No. 3
Michigan
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) --- Jeremy Fears had 21 points and eight assists and
Coen Carr also scored 21, helping No. 8 Michigan State hold off Rutgers 91-87
on Thursday night.
The Spartans (25-5, 15-4 Big Ten) will close the regular season on the road
against rival and third-ranked Michigan on Sunday.
Michigan State has won five straight games to secure a top-four seed in next
week's Big Ten Tournament and a double-bye into the quarterfinals.
The Scarlet Knights (12-18, 5-14) have slumped toward the bottom of the 18-team
conference.
Rutgers' Tariq Francis scored 25 points, Lino Mark had 14 and Emmanuel Ogbole
added 13.
Michigan State trailed by a point at halftime and took control with an 11-0
run. Carr dunked three times in 1:13 and Jordan Scott followed with a slam 32
seconds later.
The Spartans had a comfortable cushion until the final minute, when their
10-point lead was trimmed to two. Fears sealed the win with two free throws
with 2.9 seconds left.
Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and Carson Cooper added 14 in the final home game
for both seniors.
Michigan State celebrated its seniors after the game, including Nick Sanders,
son of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions.
The school honored a military veteran, as it does every game before the
national anthem is played, and the latest was Kohler's 102-year-old great
grandfather, Earl "Chuck" Kohler, who served in the Navy and is one of 12
remaining survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Up next
Rutgers: Host Penn State on Sunday.
Michigan State: At No. 3 Michigan on Sunday.
___
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