Michigan State bounces back, holds off Oregon in PK85 Invitational

It was early Saturday morning when the final horn sounded, and when it did, Michigan State had gutted out a much-needed victory in the PK85 Invitational.

Behind 18 points each from Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker, the 12^th-ranked Spartans won a battle of shorthanded teams, outlasting Oregon for a 74-70 victory at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

“We did some really great things and then we did some bonehead things,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told the Spartan Radio Network. “But what I did feel a little good about at the end, Tyson was a go-to guy, Joey made some big plays, and even though disappointed in A.J. (Hoggard), disappointed in Mady (Sissoko) a little bit, those guys went to the line and made six straight free throws. And that's incredibly important.”

BOX SCORE: Michigan State 74, Oregon 70

Hauser added 10 rebounds for a double-double, Walker had eight assists and Pierre Brooks chipped in a career-high 15 points for Michigan State. And, as Izzo mentioned, the Spartans closed the game with Hoggard, Sissoko and Walker all making their free throws.

Michigan State (4-2) advances to the fifth-place game on Sunday against Portland, which beat Villanova, 83-71, earlier on Friday.

The Spartans won playing their second straight game without senior Malik Hall and sophomore Jaden Akins. Hall (foot) will be out another two weeks at least while Akins (foot) could make it back by Sunday, though that is a long shot.

“It’s been harder than I thought with those two guys out because you kind of learned that those two guys helped stir the drink, especially Malik,” Izzo said. “But we can't complain about it. … Everybody has injuries but in basketball when you have two guys out, that's 40% of your lineup. So somehow, we’ve got to get up because the team we play now might be better than all the teams we played. They run their stuff so well and they should have beat (North) Carolina and then beat a team that we barely beat; beat ‘em bad and we're dragging a little bit right now.”

Will Richardson scored 28 to lead Oregon (2-4) while Kel’el Ware added 17 points and Rivaldo Soares chipped in 10.

It was a rough start for the Spartans who suffered through a 1-for-13 shooting stretch in the first half as Sissoko picked up two early fouls and the Ducks took control of the game.

Ware hit a couple of early 3-pointers and when Ware dunked with 5:36 to play in the half after the Spartans failed to pull down a couple of rebounds on the defensive glass, the Ducks held a 25-17 lead and the Spartans were grasping for answers.

After the teams traded baskets, things started to come together for Michigan State, beginning with a 14-0 spurt as Jaxon Kohler had a pair of layups sandwich around a jumper from Hauser. The Spartans then closed the half with 3-pointers from Walker and Hauser while a Brooks jumper was ruled a two to take a 33-27 lead.

Oregon got a triple at the buzzer from Soares to end Michigan State’s run and send the teams to the halftime locker room with the Spartans on top, 33-30.

Richardson hit two straight 3-pointers to begin the half for Oregon to give the Ducks a quick lead as the teams went back and forth in the early going. The Spartans eventually took a 45-41 lead on jumpers from Hauser and Walker. Oregon responded with a 7-0 run to take a 48-45 lead before another Hauser triple tied the game at 48 with 11:40 remaining.

Later, back-to-back 3-pointers from Brooks and Walker gave Michigan State a 56-52 lead with 7:22 to play. The Spartans pushed the lead to 62-55 on a lob pass from Walker to Sissoko and held that seven-point lead headed into the final four minutes of the game.

A Richardson 3-pointer pulled Oregon within 68-64 with 59.6 seconds left before an MSU turnover led to an Oregon three-point play and a one-point lead for the Spartans. After Sissoko and Hoggard each made two free throws, Richardson converted a three-point play to pull the Ducks within 72-70 with 11.1 seconds left.

Walker then put the game away at the free-throw line.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau