Published December 31, 2003 - Lansing State Journal

MSU hits stride in second half
Spartans struggle before downing Copping State

By Jordan Bastian
For the Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING - No national media in attendance. No nationally ranked team to play. No problem?

No way.

Michigan State had to put together its biggest comeback of the season, rebounding from an eight-point deficit in the first half, for a 78-72 win against Coppin State.

The win Tuesday at Breslin Center against the small school from Maryland allowed the Spartans to find the type of game they had been missing recently: Coach Tom Izzo’s squad shot a season-high 61 percent from the field.

"This will sound strange," Izzo said, "but I actually felt like we played a lot better basketball. They played pretty good."

Just when it seemed MSU would fall short, the Spartans kept charging back.

After a Maurice Ager steal, Chris Hill hit a three-pointer to break a 50-50 tie with 11:39 to go - sending MSU on a 16-4 run.

The Spartans (5-5) would not look back.

"We were pretty much tied the whole game," MSU center Paul Davis said. "I think it was about the five-minute mark when we finally pulled away, and you could see our offense working perfect."

The surge was highlighted by an Alan Anderson dunk that gave MSU a 71-59 lead with 4:08 to go.

The Eagles, though, had one more run left in them.

Coppin State guard Jimmy Boykin traded 3-pointers with the Spartans in the second half, making four shots from long range.

This season, 36.4 percent of Coppin State’s shots have been from outside the arc, and Tuesday’s game was no different.

The Eagles hit on 11 of 20 3-point attempts.

"You have to give Boykin some credit," Izzo said. "He hit some shots in that second half."

So did Hill, who had a season-high 18 points including four second-half 3-pointers that helped to seal the win.

"They created the tempo in the second half," Coppin State coach Ron Mitchell said.

"We had an opportunity to win. And we didn’t."

MSU did not look as good in the first half, though.

"Early on, I didn’t think we were very sharp," Izzo said.

Ager missed the first two shots that the Spartans attempted, setting the tone for a sloppy first half in which MSU turned the ball over eight times.

Davis made a jump shot to give the Spartans an early 3-2 lead, but Coppin State would rally behind the play of Raheem Scott and Darryl Jones, who combined for 15 points in the half.

Davis finished with 22 points.

The Eagles led by as many as eight, making the Spartans force errant passes and take deeper shots. Seven of Michigan State’s 17 field-goal tries in the first half were 3-point attempts.

Trailing 27-20, the Spartans went on a 10-0 run and would have been up three at the half had not Coppin State’s Labeeb Muhammad hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 30.

Among the bright spots for MSU was Kelvin Torbert, who had a season-high 21 points. It was the first time in three seasons that the Spartans had two players - Torbert and Davis - score 20 or more points in a game.

Kelvin Green led Coppin State with 20 points.

Defensively, though, MSU was out-rebounded 29-21 by the smaller Eagles.

"They’ve played against some very good teams and at some tough places," Hill said, "but we can’t allow teams to dominate the glass like that, especially in a game like this, and expect to be where we want to be."