Promising Future

Alex Scharg — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:39:29 +0000

On senior day for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Michigan State Spartans had one last chance to clinch a victory and attain bowl eligibility.

Michigan State started off the game strong with an interception at 12:11 in the first quarter, which led to a Dan Conroy 48-yard field goal.

Minnesota tallied an interception of its own at 4:43, leading to a touchdown and taking the lead 7-3. Dan Conroy hit another field goal to tighten the lead to 7-6 ending the first quarter.

The second quarter was scoreless until an intended Andrew Maxwell pass to Tony Lippett tipped into Bennie Fowler’s hands, leading to a 41-yard touchdown with only 1:28 left.

The Spartans led at halftime 13-7, as the half was highlighted by two interceptions from each quarterback. Leading the Spartans was running back Le’Veon Bell, who totaled 124 yards rushing in the first half.

The third quarter was highlighted by two Dan Conroy field goals, and a field goal for Minnesota making it 19-10. Highlighting the third was freshman Andre Sims, who had a career best 44-yard punt return to the Minnesota 7-yard line, which then was followed by a Dan Conroy field goal.

Michigan State added one more touchdown, and then ran off the clock for a 29-10 win. Le’Veon Bell finished the game with 266 rushing yards on 35 carries.

With the win, the Spartans improve to 6-6 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Their potential bowl games include the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Little Caesars Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, or Heart of Dallas Bowl. This is the sixth-straight bowl season for the Spartans.

Close, But Victorious Over Boise

Alex Scharg — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:38:24 +0000

EAST LANSING—After the Michigan State football team knocked off the Boise State Broncos under the lights in September, the No. 15 Spartan basketball team faced the men’s team of Boise, who came into the Breslin Center unranked and looking for an upset.

The game began with Gary Harris heading to the locker room early due to a shoulder injury. Adjustments were made, as the Spartans went with a smaller line-up of Russell Byrd and Brandon Kearney throughout the game. The first 10 minutes featured up-and-down basketball, highlighted by lead changes and fast breaks.

Leading the Spartans at the end of the fist half was Keith Appling, shooting 4-7 from the field with 11 points and 3 assists.

In the second half, the Spartan’s led Boise 56-54 with 9:19 to go, but Center Derrick Nix was given a flagrant foul coupled by a Tom Izzo technical foul. The refs gave Izzo the technical because of constant jabber throughout both halfs.

Boise took the lead back for the first time since the first half, knocking down all four technical free throws taking a 56-58 lead.

The Spartans rampaged back, with two back-to-back dunks by Denzel Valentine and Keith Appling, making it 66-62 with 3:20 to go.

Boise trailed 68-70 with less than a minute in regulation, until Keith Appling hit a lay-up while being fouled, giving the Spartans a three-point play. The Spartans clung to their lead and never looked back, defeating Boise 74-70.

This marked the 2^nd meeting against Boise in 30 years for the Spartans. Appling played all 40 minutes while leading the Spartans with 22 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. The Spartans also finished 16-25 from the free-throw line. The Boise State Broncos stuck right with a strong rebounding Spartan team, totaling 24 opposed to the Spartan’s 28. Michigan State now improves to 3-1, with their next game against Oakland University Friday, November 23^rd at Breslin.