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Hamilton, Longhorns down Spartans

Dec 23, 2010 - 4:16 AM East Lansing, MI (Sports Network) - Jordan Hamilton scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 18 Texas defeat No. 12 Michigan State, 67-55.

Tristan Thompson had a double-double with 17 points and 15 boards for Texas (10-2), which has won four straight games and seven of its last eight. Gary Johnson added 14 points in the win.

Despite head coach Tom Izzo's return from a one-game suspension for a minor NCAA rules infraction, Michigan State saw its 52-game home win streak against non-conference opponents come to an end.

Kalin Lucas scored 17 points while Durrell Summers chipped in with 11 as the Spartans (8-4) shot a pedestrian 29 percent from the field in their first non- conference loss at the Breslin Center against since December 3, 2003, versus Duke.

Texas head coach Rick Barnes said he didn't tell his team about Michigan State's streak.

"We didn't talk about that," he said. "I did tell the team it was December and hopefully it will help us later on as we continue to get better, but we're going to take some time off here and get back to work."

Turnovers have plagued the Spartans all season and that didn't change in this one as Texas scored 19 points off of 16 MSU giveaways

J'Covan Brown picked the ball away from Korie Lucious to set up Hamilton's breakaway dunk that blew the game open, 57-44, midway through the second half.

MSU cut the lead to single digits, 57-48, after two Delvon Roe free throws, but Hamilton's jumper with seven minutes left pushed the lead back to 11.

The Longhorns went on a six-point burst, capped by Hamilton's layup, to take a 65-50 lead with 4:05 remaining.

It wasn't a night for a comeback by the home team, which made a season-low 18 field goals and never threatened the rest of the way.

"When you don't make shots, a lot of things look worse than they are," Izzo said. "I really liked Texas' team and the way they played. That was the most physical game we were a part of since the Purdue days back with Gene Keady and Jud Heathcote. It was a very physical game. I just loved the way they played, but I thought we had some open shots in the first half."

With the game tied early, 7-7, Texas went on a six-point spurt finished by Hamilton's dunk. Draymond Green made two free throws with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half to bring MSU back to within three, 20-17. But the Longhorns answered back with another six-point run for a 26-17 edge.

The Spartans finished the last 3:45 of the half strong by tallying 9-of-12 points to pull within one, 31-30, at the break.

Game Notes

Texas has won two in a row against Michigan State and now leads the overall series, 4-3...Texas improved to 2-1 against teams in the AP Top 25 this season...Michigan State recorded season lows in points (55), field-goal percentage (.290), 3-point field goals (3), 3-point field goal percentage (.188) and assists (10).