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Quick report: Michigan State 92, Penn State 65

01/10/2016, 2:30pm EST
By Marley Paul

Denzel Valentine (45) and MSU come to State College and beat PSU 92-65 on Sunday. (Photo: Madeline Pryor/CoBL)

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Penn State welcomed No. 5 Michigan State to Happy Valley on Sunday, and the Spartans (16-1, 3-1 Big Ten) felt right at home as they powered past the Nittany Lions 92-65 with the return of their star Denzel Valentine. Michigan State coasted from start to finish after shaking off some rust in the early minutes, while the Nittany Lions (10-7, 1-3 B1G) had their hands full on both sides of the ball for 40 minutes.

At First...
It wasn’t a pleasant start for Penn State. The Nittany Lions didn’t find their open opening basket until 17:08, when Shep Garner hustled back up the court, after misfiring on the previous possession, to poke the ball loose from behind, which led to a fast break layup by Devin Foster. After both teams struggled to find their stroke early, both shooting 29 percent midway through the first half, Bryn Forbes quickly got things rolling.

Center Jordan Dickerson picked up two fouls just a minute and a half into the contest, which spelled extended minutes for backups Julian Moore and Donovan Jack. Moore responded with eight first-half points and three rebounds, though, Jack went scoreless while picking up two fouls himself.

Turning point...
A few late runs toward the end of the first half gave Penn State some life in this contest. The Nittany Lions manifested an 8-0 run in a two-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 27-20, but Forbes would hear none of it.

The Michigan State guard drained drained two more of his six first-half 3-pointers to give the Spartans enough breathing room to give the Nittany Lions an uphill battle that the team hasn’t been able to overcome all season.

Standout Stars...
Denzel Valentine, a National Player of the Year candidate, may be the star of this Michigan State team, but coach Tom Izzo certainly doesn’t have a secondary focal point in Bryn Forbes. Forbes was lights out from beyond the arc. The senior guard entered the game fifth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, shooting at a 47 percent clip and displayed every bit of his shooting prowess with six 3s in the first half en route to a 20-point outing through the opening 20 minutes, while Valentine missed his first five shots.

Shep Garner seemed hellbent on staging a comeback rally. He saw his team facing a double-digit deficit early in the contest and began to pick up his aggression, firing from deep and attacking the basket at will. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Noteworthy Number(s)...
3-point shooting (3-of-14): Penn State has been feast of famine all season from beyond the arc, and today wasn’t the touch certainly wasn’t there against the Spartans. As the Lions went into the half down 13 points, Michigan State nailed 7 of 13 3s to create separation while not shooting that well, only 9 of 26 from inside the arc.

Up next...
Penn State (10-7, 1-3 B1G) @ Purdue 8:30 p.m. Jan 13. 
Michigan State (16-1, 3-1 B1G) vs. Iowa 7 p.m., Jan. 14.

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