Jase Richardson scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, leading No. 9 Michigan State to an 86-74 comeback win over Oregon on Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich.
The Spartans (19-4, 10-2 Big Ten) overcame a 14-point halftime deficit, scoring 50 points in the second half, including a 17-2 run through the middle of the half that decided the game.
Oregon, after hot 3-point shooting in the first 20 minutes, missed all eight of its attempts in the second half and made just 6 of 24 shots overall in that time frame.
Jaxon Kohler had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Tre Holloman added 13 points for the Spartans, who ended a two-game losing streak. The struggles for the Ducks (16-8, 5-8) continued as they lost their fifth straight game.
Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks in scoring with 22 points.
Michigan State roared back right out of the halftime locker room. The Spartans scored the first 12 points of the second half, with Richardson scoring eight points in the first five minutes.
The Ducks answered with an 8-0 run to take a 62-53 lead, including six free throws. But the Spartans overwhelmed Oregon after that spurt.
Shelstad and Nate Bittle scored Oregon’s first six points of the game on 3-pointers, a sign of things to come in the first half for the Ducks.
Oregon hit 10 of 19 3s in the first half, including four by Shelstad. Michigan State led 19-14 early in the half, but Oregon then outscored the Spartans 36-17.
A Kwame Evans Jr. 3 with 9:09 to play gave the Ducks a 22-21 lead, and Oregon built on it. Threes from Brandon Angel, Shelstad and Jadrian Tracey helped the Ducks surge to their biggest lead of the half at 45-31.
The half ended in the best way possible for Oregon, when Keeshawn Barthelemy caught an inbounds pass from the baseline and, with a defender’s hand in his face, swished a 3 at the buzzer for a 50-36 Ducks lead.
–Field Level Media
