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  • Jaden Akins Led Michingan State With 16 Points As The Spartans Downed New Mexico

Jaden Akins Led Michingan State With 16 Points As The Spartans Downed New Mexico

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Basketball

Senior guard Jaden Akins led Michigan State with 16 points as the Spartans topped New Mexico, 71-63, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Rocket Arena to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Spartans (29-6) will now face sixth-seeded Ole Miss (24-11) in a South Regional semifinal matchup on Friday in Atlanta at 7:09 p.m. on CBS.

Akins was 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, to lead the Spartans. Junior guard Tre Holloman had 14 points, including two 3-pointers, and dished out four assists, while senior forward Frankie Fidler scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Junior center Carson Cooper led the team with eight rebounds and had four points and sophomore forward Coen Carr grabbed six rebounds with eight points.

Records
MSU improves to 28-6, while New Mexico 27-7

Recap

  • After trailing for all of the first half, the Spartans took five-point leads twice in the second half, with New Mexico tying the game at 51-all with less than eight minutes left.
  • Michigan State responded with a 12-3 run over a 2:34, taking a 63-54 lead on a 3-pointer from Holloman.
  • The Lobos cut it back to 63-58 with 2:38 left, but the Spartans scored the next five points on two Carr free throws and three from freshman guard Jase Richardson to make it 68-58 with just 1:32 on the clock.
  • Richardson scored the last three points for MSU on a tip-in off an offensive rebound and then made the free throw after the foul, giving the Spartans a 71-61 advantage with only 49 seconds remaining.
  • Trailing for all but 34 seconds of the first half, the Spartans scored the first six points of the second half, with a putback layup from senior center Szymon Zapala, free throws from Carr and a driving layup from Akins giving MSU a 35-31 lead and forcing New Mexico to call a timeout at 17:13.
  • The Lobos responded with an 8-2 run and took a 39-37 lead on a layup from Nelly Joseph, but a 9-2 burst from the Spartans over 2:27 gave MSU a 46-41 lead with 12:04 left following a floater from senior forward Frankie Fidler.
  • The Spartans still led by five points, 43-38, after a Zapala layup with 4:38 to play, but New Mexico countered and tied the game at 51-all on a driving layup from Dent with 7:39 left.
  • New Mexico led at the break, 31-29, but the Spartans had trailed by as much as 10 points (24-14) before using a late run to get within two points at the break.
  • The Lobos jumped on top early with a 7-0 lead and MSU didn't get its first basket until nearly minutes into the half on a layup from junior forward Jaxon Kohler.
  • The Spartans pulled to within 12-9 on a layup from junior center Carson Cooper at 14:39 but UNM used a 12-5 run to take a 24-14 lead on a Dent jumper with 9:09 on the clock.
  • MSU chipped away and used its own 12-5 run, over 5:42, and pulled to within 29-26 after a driving layup from Holloman with 2:03 left, forcing the Lobos to call a timeout.
  • Holloman hit 1-of-2 free throws with one minute left to make it 31-29 and the Spartans had a chance to tie for take the lead in the waning seconds but could not connect.

Key Stats

  • The Spartans outscored the Lobos in the second half, 42-32.
  • MSU has a +30 scoring margin in the second half during the first two games of the NCAA Tournament (54-34, +20, vs. Bryant; 96-66 overall).
  • Michigan State outrebounded New Mexico, 34-28, and had 11 offensive rebounds.
  • MSU held significant advantages in fast-break points (17-3) and bench points (36-7).

Notes

  • Michigan State is now 3-0 all-time against New Mexico.
  • Izzo's career record is now 735-301.
  • The Spartans now have an all-time record of 75-36 in NCAA Tournament games.
  • Since 1998, the Spartans are 16-5 in their second NCAA Tournament game.
  • This will be MSU's 18th trip to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, including the 16th under Tom Izzo.
  • Michigan State is 26-1 when scoring 70 or more points
  • The Spartans held Ole Miss to 63 points, just the sixth time this year they scored fewer than 70 points.
  • MSU is 20-1 when holding opponents below 70.
  • The Spartans are 7-6 when trailing at the half.
  • Michigan State finished the game shooting 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54), the 29th time this season shooting at least 40.0 percent.
  • The Spartans were out-shot by Ole Miss (44.4% for MSU, 48.2% for Ole Miss), just the seventh time an opponent has shot better than MSU (3-4)
  • Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent for the 32nd time this season and has a 26-5 record in those situations.
  • The Spartans received 36 points from the bench, the 33rd time in 35 games with at least 20 points and the 24th time with at least 30 points.
    • Michigan State has a 26-5 record when its bench outscores the opponent.
  • Michigan State is 5-0 in games played on Sunday this year.
  • Jaden Akins scored a game-high 16 points, leading the team in scoring for the 11th time this season.
    • He has scored in double figures 28 times this year and 62 for his career.
    • In 136 career games, he now has 1,224 points, passing Kirk Manns (1986-90) and Ken Redfield (1986-90) for 35th place on the all-time scoring list at MSU and needs nine points to pass Adreian Payne (2010-14) for 34th place.
  • Tre Holloman scored 14 points and tied for a team-high with four assists.
    • This was his 15th game scoring in double figures and the 21st of his career.
    • He has led the team in assists 10 times this year and 19 for his career
  • Frankie Fidler scored 10 points, his 12th game in double figures this year and the 87th of his career.
  • Carson Cooper scored four points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
    • It was his eighth time leading the team in rebounds this year and the 15th of his career.
  • Jase Richardson scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and tied for a team-high with four assists.
    • Richardson had a 12-game double-figure scoring streak snapped.
    • This was his second time leading the team in assists.

Up Next
The Spartans (29-6) will now face sixth-seeded Ole Miss (24-11) in a South Regional semifinal matchup on Friday in Atlanta at 7:09 p.m. on CBS.