FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Jaxon Kohler and Divine Ugochukwu each scored 16 points to lead No. 11 Michigan State's balanced attack as the Spartans beat East Carolina 89-56 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday.
Michigan State, which entered the game with four players averaging double-figure points, also got 13 from Coen Carr and 10 from Carson Cooper.
The Spartans (6-0) had 36 points in the paint, 35 points from its reserves and 31 points off 24 East Carolina turnovers.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo began clearing his bench with three minutes left.
The Spartans were tied with East Carolina 9-9 with 13:29 left in the first half. They then went on a 14-2 spurt with Kohler’s 3-pointers starting and ending the run. The lead kept building with Michigan State ahead 47-24 at halftime.
The electric Carr, who had three of ESPN’s top three highlights in a win against San Jose, seemed to come down from the rafters as he took Jeremy Fears Jr.’s alley-oop pass and dunked it home to put Michigan State up 61-30.
Jordan Riley, who came in averaging more than 18 points, led East Carolina (2-4) with 13 points. Corey Caulker added 11 points.
The Pirates hung tough on the boards with Michigan State, having just four less rebounds (38-34).
Michigan State will play the winner of No. 16 North Carolina and St. Bonaventure on Thursday.
East Carolina will play the loser of North Carolina and St. Bonaventure on Thursday.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
LittleFoot said:
Cultural issues - but in America we like to pretend we are all the same. We are not.
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