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Jaden Akins scored a team-high 16 points Sunday night and second-seeded Michigan State controlled the last seven minutes to eliminate 10th-seeded New Mexico 71-63 in the second round of the South Region of the NCAA Tournament in Cleveland.

Tre Holloman came off the bench to add 14 points and fellow reserve Frankie Fidler chipped in 10 points for the Spartans (29-6), who advance to the regional semifinals in Atlanta to play No. 6 Ole Miss on Friday. The Rebels were 91-78 winners over third-seeded Iowa State.

Nelly Junior Joseph scored 16 points for the Lobos (27-8) but was limited to 29 minutes due to foul trouble before fouling out at the 2:12 mark. Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Donovan Dent added 14 points and six assists, while Mustapha Amzil also tallied 14 points.

New Mexico canned 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts, including 15 of 28 in the second half. It outshot Michigan State, which made 44.4 percent from the field, but the Spartans won this one at the foul line. They converted 19 of 28 there, while the Lobos made just 5 of 10.

Dent drove for a layup with 7:40 left to tie the game at 51, but Akins splashed a 3-pointer on Michigan State’s next possession to give it the lead for good. Fidler capped a 7-0 run with consecutive buckets for a 58-51 advantage with 6:08 remaining.

After winning its first NCAA Tournament game since 2012, New Mexico controlled most of the first half, jumping out to a 10-2 lead at the 15:50 mark behind a 3-pointer from Amzil.

The advantage reached 10 with 9:07 remaining when Dent penetrated and hit a short jumper in the lane to make it 24-14. It was still nine on Amzil’s second 3-pointer with 4:41 left, and then Michigan State rattled off eight straight points and trailed just 31-29 at intermission.

–Field Level Media