MSU basketball: 2nd-half spurt is enough to down Northwestern

EAST LANSING - The two pieces of this Michigan State machine with the most yet to be extracted are Durrell Summers and Delvon Roe.

In Saturday's 79-70 win over Northwestern that went from competitive to convincing in a hurry, both demonstrated what they can do, and what that production can do for this team.

Summers had a huge night with 24 points and 10 rebounds for No. 5 MSU at Breslin Center, and Roe attacked the basket for 13 points despite foul trouble - helping make up for Raymar Morgan's five-foul, zero-point night.

"We have to be more aggressive out there," said Roe, who also had four rebounds and three steals in just 21 minutes. "Durrell and I, both of us can bring so much more to the team than we have been."

The Wildcats (14-7, 3-6) made things slightly interesting by trimming a 16-point lead down to six in the final two minutes, but Kalin Lucas (23 points) and others made late free throws to keep it from getting too interesting.

MSU coach Tom Izzo called it "one of the more complete games that we've played" after MSU got its 10th straight win on his 55th birthday.

The Spartans improve to 19-3 overall and 9-0 in the Big Ten, extending the best league start in program history. MSU has a three-game lead at the midway point, with a Tuesday visit to second-place Wisconsin next on the schedule.

"I've never won up there," Summers said of Wisconsin's Kohl Center, which last saw an MSU win in 2001. "I want to get one."

The first 20 minutes Saturday were reminiscent of last year's stunning Northwestern upset in Breslin, with the Wildcats (14-7, 3-6) hanging around behind a hot-shooting star (Kevin Coble then, John Shurna now).

MSU held a 30-28 lead at halftime, but the Spartans blew open the game with a 16-1 run shortly after the break.

"That really was the game - you know it was just like, 'Bang,' " said Northwestern coach Bill Carmody, whose team ended a 25-year drought with a win here last season.

Summers hit two 3-pointers and another jumper in the run, and Chris Allen punctuated it with a power dunk that is destined for heavy replay. He took a Lucas pass on a fast break and hammered one down over Shurna.

"Instant adrenaline," Allen said. "I was juiced off that."

Shurna had his share of highlights, though, going for a career-high 31 points. The sophomore forward had 29 in the Spartans' 91-70 win at Northwestern on Jan. 2.

But the Spartans made 15 of 20 shots (75 percent) in the second half, finishing at 51.9 percent for the game. They missed 10 of 11 3-point tries in the first half, and Izzo said he was "thrilled" with most of those looks.

MSU had 19 assists and just 10 turnovers in the game, limiting the mistakes against the Wildcats' aggressive defense. Lucas had four assists and no turnovers.

Morgan averaged 16.8 points, hitting 28 of 36 shots, in his previous four games, but he picked up two quick fouls and never got into the flow. He missed all five shots and played just 16 minutes.

Roe and Draymond Green (nine points, 11 rebounds) made up for his absence. And Summers was all over the place - starting each half with a lob dunk, crashing the boards and finally hitting some jump shots.

He seemed to play with emotion, and when that happens Summers is "one of the better players in the whole league," Izzo said.

Summers is shooting 28.3 percent from 3-point range and has been hard to predict this season. He now has three 20-point games and two scoreless games.

In his past 17 games, he has scored in double figures eight times, including three of the past four.

"I've been trying to figure that out myself," Summers said of his ups and downs. "I'm just trying to stay focused."

Said Allen of Summers: "He looked like a pro tonight. He keeps playing like that, I don't want to say it, but he won't be here next year."