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Lucas-led No. 5 Michigan State tops Michigan 57-56

Jan 27, 2010 - 3:32 AM By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR, Mich.(AP) -- Kalin Lucas coached in the huddle and starred on the floor.

Lucas made a go-ahead jumper with 3.5 seconds left, lifting No. 5 Michigan State to a 57-56 win over Michigan on Tuesday night.

"We went to our go-to guy," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "If anyone wonders why I expect a lot of out of him, it shouldn't take you long to figure out why.

"I fall in love with guys that want to coach the team. He came to me and made a couple adjustments against the 1-3-1 zone and wanted to go in the middle," Izzo said

The Wolverines had a chance to snatch the lead back when DeShawn Sims had a shot roll off the rim on an alley-oop pass with 0.9 seconds. Sims didn't draw a foul despite some contact.

"I probably should've of questioned it, but I didn't see anything," Michigan coach John Beilein said when asked if he thought Sims was fouled. "The tape will show more, but under the circumstances the crew did a great job. Who knows if the third guy was there if they would've saw more."

Official Jim Burr left the game in the first half with a back injury.

Durrell Summers, who grabbed Sims' jersey when they were both on the ground, said he focused on staying down on the final play.

"I didn't want to jump and risk a foul," Summers said.

The Spartans (18-3, 8-0 Big Ten) have won their first eight conference games for the first time in school history, breaking the record set in 1978 during Magic Johnson's freshman season.

"I hope there are bigger things that that," Izzo said.

Michigan State has won 17 of 20 against its rival.

"It means an awful lot, being in-state adds to it," said Draymond Green, who is from Saginaw. "But we're still playing for a Big Ten title."

The Wolverines (10-10, 3-5) started the season with high hopes - ranked No. 15 in The Associated Press poll - and have dug a hole that forces them to make a remarkable run to earn a second straight at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

They've lost three straight for the second time this season.

Manny Harris said the latest loss was probably the most disappointing one of his three-year career.

"To play a Final Four team, a top-five team and to be where we were," Harris said.

Michigan has blown leads late in some games, putting its season in peril.

"It would be a far different season if we even won half of those," Beilein said.

As usual, the Wolverines got a lot out of Sims and Harris and not much from the rest of the team.

Sims scored 19 and Harris had 16 points and none of their teammates scored more than seven.

Harris was on the bench for the first 3:12 of the game after serving a one-game suspension for an undisclosed incident in Friday's practice.

"It wasn't further penalty," Beilein insisted.

Harris didn't score early on in the game, but finished strong to give Michigan a shot to upset the Spartans until poor shot selection and execution doomed its chances.

"We could be more selective, but that's the kind of team we are," Harris said. "That's what coach wants us to do."

Raymar Morgan had 20 points - missing only one of nine shots - Lucas scored 12 while Durrell Summers and Green each had 10.

"Raymar won the game for us," Lucas said. "He played great. Every time we went to him, he was clutch."

Harris made a go-ahead layup with 3 minutes left, then had a steal and assist to put the Wolverines up by three points, but they shot airballs on their next two possessions.

Morgan scored inside off an assist from Green, who grabbed an offensive rebound, to cut the deficit to a point.

Lucas followed - after getting kicked in the head accidentally by Harris - with his game-winning shot from the right wing on an assist from Summers after Sims shot an airball.

"I kept calling - Durrell! Durrell!" Lucas recalled. "I've been working on that play a long time."

Lucas' leadership was questioned publicly by Izzo earlier this season, leading to him being held out of a practice, but the coach and the guard were on the same page when it mattered most at Michigan.

"I told coach I'd make some plays and I had to do that," Lucas said.