Second-half surge leads Hurricanes over Spartans
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Trey McKinney Jones and Shane Larkin sparked a second-half charge that lifted the Miami-Florida Hurricanes to an impressive 67-59 victory over the 13th-ranked Michigan State Spartans in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
McKinney Jones finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc and Larkin supplied 15 for the Hurricanes (4-1). The duo contributed 12 points apiece after halftime.
"This was November's highlight," Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga said. "Now we need to get some December highlights."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Durand Scott paced Miami in the first half, scoring 11 of his 15 points.
Reggie Johnson posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Hurricanes' first-ever meeting with Michigan State.
Keith Appling had 15 points for the Spartans (5-2), who had won five straight since dropping the season opener to Connecticut in Germany.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"It's going to get better once we get our rotation down. I still like where I think we've got a chance to go, but I sure don't like it right now," Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said.
Gary Harris and Travis Trice both returned Wednesday for Michigan State. Harris, who missed two games with a shoulder sprain, supplied 12 points and eight boards, while Trice had nine points in his first action since suffering a concussion against the Huskies.
A back-and-forth first frame ended with the Spartans holding a 31-27 edge.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Miami went on a 14-2 run to begin the second half to seize control. Larkin registered seven points during the surge that put the Hurricanes up 41-33.
McKinney Jones drained a 3-pointer from the right corner and Scott made two free throws to extend the lead to 57-45 with 6:27 remaining. Miami's advantage never dipped below eight the rest of the way.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Miami improved to 2-4 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, while the Spartans' record fell to 6-7 ... The Hurricanes held a 16-5 advantage in made free throws ... Michigan State shot just 45.5 percent (5-of-11) at the foul line ... Branden Dawson scored 11 points for the Spartans.