Malik Hall scored on a driving layup with 1.9 seconds to give No. 13 Michigan State a 65-63 victory against Maryland on Tuesday night at College Park, Md., moving the Spartans into a first-place tie in the Big Ten.
Tyson Walker set up the game-winning possession by forcing a turnover with 24 seconds left. He slapped the ball off the thigh of Maryland’s Fatts Russell as he dribbled down the lane.
Hall scored a game-high 16 points and Marcus Bingham Jr. added 10 points and six rebounds as Michigan State (17-4, 8-2) gained a share of the top spot in the conference. The Spartans are tied with No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 18 Illinois.
Michigan State had a 15-point lead early in the second half, but the Terrapins rallied and tied it at 61-all on a 3-pointer by Russell with 2:49 left. After Hall and Maryland’s Donta Scott each made two free throws, neither team scored again until Hall’s game-winning layup. Russell’s halfcourt heave at the buzzer was wide.
Eric Ayala scored 15 points to lead Maryland (11-11, 3-8), and Scott had 14 points. Qudus Wahab finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Neither team led by more than five points until the closing minutes of the first half, when Michigan State ran off 10 straight points. With 3-pointers from Gabe Brown and Joey Hauser (10 points), the Spartans took a 35-25 lead at the break. Maryland failed to score in the final 4:50, committing four turnovers and missing two field goal tries and a free throw.
Hauser hustled for a transition tip-in and followed with a 3-pointer early in the second half to give Michigan State its biggest lead, 42-27.
But Maryland answered with an 11-point run. Ayala triggered it, muscling inside for a three-point play. Wahab added a dunk and a jump hook as the Terps pulled within 42-38.
–Field Level Media
