Jaxon Kohler notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 15 points and eight assists as No. 9 Michigan State downed Toledo 92-69 on Tuesday night in East Lansing, Mich.
Sonny Wilson led all scorers with a career-best 29 points for Toledo (5-6) while finishing 10-for-15 from the floor.
The Spartans overcame 15 turnovers — 11 more than their foes — while outrebounding the Rockets 54-24. Michigan State’s Carson Cooper snagged nine boards and Jesse McCulloch had eight off the bench.
Starter Coen Carr and reserve Kur Teng scored 14 points apiece for the Spartans (10-1).
Kohler has posted six double-doubles this season.
Toledo outscored Michigan State 41-34 after halftime as Leroy Blyden Jr. (10 game points) and Sean Craig (eight) began to complement Wilson. The Spartans’ early edge, though, was too much to erase.
Kohler propelled Michigan State with a scorching start, collecting 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting — including 2-for-3 accuracy from deep — in the first 8:27 of the game.
Moments earlier, his trey on the fast break gave him 12 points while extending the Spartans’ advantage to 27-12 at the 12:00 mark.
Michigan State missed eight consecutive shots during one stretch late in the first half but still used its size to keep the Rockets at bay. Taking on the Toledo frontcourt by himself, the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Kohler got his own rebound, then missed a tip-in attempt before Carr grabbed an offensive board and passed the ball to Fears at the top of the key.
Blyden fouled Fears on a 3-point attempt and Fears responded by swishing each free throw to push the lead to 18 points, 39-21 at the 6:58 mark. Michigan State led by as many as 30 in the first half and 33 in the game.
Fears beat the buzzer with a jumper to cap an 11-0 run and send the Spartans into halftime with a 58-28 edge.
Wilson had 11 first-half points for the Rockets, who shot 29.4% (10 of 34) in the first 20 minutes compared to 53.8% (21 of 39) for the Spartans.
Austin Parks finished with nine rebounds for Toledo.
Michigan State had 26 assists on 34 made field goals.
–Field Level Media
