MSU 94, Oklahoma State 79: Spartans, Morgan regroup in a hurry

ORLANDO, Fla. - It was probably a good thing for Raymar Morgan and Michigan State to get right back onto the basketball court after Thursday's unsettling blowout loss to Maryland.

Before panic could spread too far in the aftermath of that stinker, Morgan and the Spartans showed Friday that they are capable of playing the game. For stretches of a 94-79 victory over Oklahoma State, they played it quite well.

Morgan was removed from the starting lineup and answered with 29 points in just 23 minutes.

"He really responded," coach Tom Izzo said of the junior forward. "He had an incredible game."

Across the board, No. 5 MSU (3-1) saw improvement after an 80-62 loss to the Terps that dropped the Spartans to the losers bracket of the Old Spice Classic at Disney World's Milk House.

Morgan, who had four quick fouls and four points Thursday, hit 9 of 11 shots and 11 of 13 free throws on Friday. Kalin Lucas bounced back from an off night to push the action and finish with 12 points, 10 assists and one turnover.

Lucas played "like the jet he is instead of the plowhorse he was the last couple games," Izzo said.

MSU defended better - not great, but better - holding the athletic Cowboys (4-2) to 36 percent shooting in the decisive first half. The fast break got going as a result, helping MSU shoot 59.3 percent for the game.

Freshman forward Delvon Roe, starting for Morgan, had seven points and four boards despite his own foul trouble. Freshman forward Draymond Green grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

And the two Spartans who played well against Maryland repeated. Senior guard Travis Walton kept hitting jumpers, following up his career-high 16-point night with another 16. He made 8 of 10 shots Thursday and 7 of 10 Friday.

Senior forward Marquise Gray, starting in place of the injured Goran Suton (knee), was strong around the basket. He had 12 points and six rebounds.

"My confidence level is very high," Gray said. "That's one thing I've tried to tell myself and work on this year, to stay confident within myself. ... With me and Travis, it goes back to that confidence thing."

MSU will feel a bit better about things during its off day today, then come back to play Wichita State here at about 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPNU).

Gonzaga, which beat Maryland 81-59 on Friday, will take on Tennessee at 8 p.m. Sunday in the championship game (ESPN2).

After Thursday's loss to the Terrapins, things "got ugly" at the team hotel, Gray said.

"It was rough, very rough," Lucas said.

"We just yelled at each other," Izzo said, "and after that ate a pizza, then got up and got to work."

MSU had an early-morning practice at a local high school Friday and digested Oklahoma State film quickly. Morgan learned he'd be coming off the bench, a likely temporary move that Izzo said he made to work on Morgan's focus.

"It was definitely a challenge," Morgan said. "Coach challenged me a little bit, and I just did some things better."

So did his teammates. MSU had 23 assists to 16 turnovers, and made 19 of 26 free throws after converting just 12 of 27 against Maryland.

Despite Suton's absence, MSU was able to scratch out a 36-34 edge on the boards, with five apiece for Morgan and Durrell Summers.

Suton, who sprained his left knee in last week's win at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, is doubtful for Sunday.

The Spartans could really use him Wednesday night, when they take on No. 1 North Carolina at Detroit's Ford Field in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

MSU still doesn't look ready for that kind of assignment, but Oklahoma State is a talented team that led Gonzaga for most Thursday's first-round game before fading late and falling, 83-71.

"The credit definitely goes to the players, it's not easy to bounce back on a one-day prep," Izzo said. "Tournaments like this are hard as a coach, but you really do learn a lot about your team."

MSU led by 15 at the half and kept the lead around 20 for most of the second half.

The Cowboys kept things from getting out of hand by hitting 11 3-pointers. Shooting guard Terrel Harris led four Cowboys in double figures with 21 points.

MSU (94)

Player M FG FT R A F Pt

Roe 12 3-4 1-2 4 1 4 7

Gray 19 5-6 2-3 6 1 3 12

Lucas 36 5-11 1-1 1 10 1 12

Walton 34 7-10 1-2 2 5 3 16

Summers 24 2-4 0-0 5 2 3 6

Ibok 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 3 0

Morgan 23 9-11 11-13 5 2 3 29

Allen 16 1-3 0-0 1 2 2 2

Thornton 8 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 5

Dahlman 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Green 16 1-5 2-3 8 0 0 4

Lucious 4 0-2 1-2 0 0 0 1

Herzog 1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

TEAM 2

Totals 200 35-59 19-26 36 23 23 94

OKLAHOMA STATE (79)

Player M FG FT R A F Pt

Thomas 22 2-7 2-3 3 1 4 6

Eaton 23 5-13 2-2 4 5 4 14

Harris 38 7-11 4-7 6 1 3 21

Muonelo 35 6-13 0-0 6 4 2 15

Anderson 39 3-8 5-7 3 3 0 13

Brown 14 1-3 0-3 2 0 2 2

Page 18 3-6 1-1 2 1 4 8

Sidorakis 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Moses 8 0-1 0-0 1 0 2 0

Kirkland 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

TEAM 7

Totals 200 11-28 14-23 34 15 21 79

3-points goals-MSU 5-10 (Lucas 1-2, Walton 1-1, Summer 2-3, Thornton 1-1, Allen 0-1, Dahlman 0-1, Lucious 0-1), Oklahoma State 11-28 (Thomas 0-1, Eaton 2-4, Eaton 3-4, Muonelo 3-7, Anderson 2-7, Page 1-4, Moses 0-1). Turnovers-MSU 16, Oklahoma State 18. Fouled out-None. Halftime score-MSU 44, Oklahoma State 29. A-4,658.