No. 3 Michigan tops No. 7 Michigan State to grab Big Ten lead
Yaxel Lendeborg recorded 26 points and 12 rebounds and No. 3 Michigan moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with an 83-71 victory over No. 7 Michigan State on Friday night in East Lansing, Mich.
Elliott Cadeau scored 17 points and dished out six assists for the Wolverines (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten), who secured their sixth straight win. Morez Johnson Jr. contributed 12 points, while Trey McKenney added 10, as Michigan maintained the lead for more than 36 and a half minutes.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored a career-best 31 points and added seven assists and four steals for the Spartans (19-3, 9-2), who had their seven-game winning streak ended. Jaxon Kohler added 12 points and Jordan Scott and Coen Carr had 10 apiece for Michigan State.
Michigan is a half-game ahead of No. 5 Nebraska (9-1 Big Ten) and No. 9 Illinois (9-1) in the conference standings. The Cornhuskers host the Illini on Sunday.
The Wolverines held a 62-59 lead with 5:50 left after a 3-pointer by Will Tschetter and two free throws from Johnson.
The Spartans later trailed by one when Johnson slammed home a dunk with four minutes remaining, and Cadeau drained a 3-pointer 52 seconds later as the Wolverines took a 69-63 lead with 3:08 left.
Fears made two free throws with 2:48 remaining, but Lendeborg responded with a layup 15 seconds later.
Johnson's layup with 1:27 left made it 73-65 and Lendeborg added two free throws 20 seconds later as Michigan pulled ahead by 10 en route to closing it out.
The Wolverines made 44.1% of their shots, including 8 of 21 from 3-point range, while halting their four-game losing streak against Michigan State.
The Spartans connected on 36.7% of their attempts and were just 4 of 23 from behind the arc while playing on coach Tom Izzo's 71st birthday.
Michigan State trailed by 16 at halftime before scoring 19 of the first 25 points in the second half. Kohler's jumper capped that burst and brought Michigan State within 48-45 with 13:11 remaining.
The Wolverines led 55-50 after a 3-pointer by L.J. Cason before Fears hit a jumper and Kohler canned a trey to tie it at 55 with 7:57 to play.
Fears followed with a steal and a drive for a hoop with 7:27 remaining to give Michigan State its first lead of the contest.
Michigan led by as many as 18 in the first half and took a 42-26 lead into the break. Lendeborg had 12 points in the half for the Wolverines and Fears scored 12 in the half for the Spartans.
Michigan ran out to a 20-7 lead over the first 11-plus minutes and later closed the half with an 18-7 burst.