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No. 19 Michigan State engineers narrow victory over Lehigh

Dec 23, 2011 - 6:05 AM East Lansing, MI (Sports Network) - Draymond Green recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Keith Appling netted 19 points, leading No. 19 Michigan State to a 90-81 win over Lehigh.

Branden Dawson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans (11-2), who have won 11 games in a row.

Holden Greiner scored 24 points and C.J. McCollum finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Lehigh (9-4), which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

"I'm proud of the fight that we put forward," Lehigh head coach Brett Reed said. "I thought we played together, we hustled and tried to make the right plays. Unfortunately, there was a small stretch in the second half when we had some defensive breakdowns. We also had some turnovers that led to easy opportunities."

Lehigh held a 38-35 advantage at the half, but Michigan State's length and size in the frontcourt eventually wore down the Mountain Hawks in the second stanza. Michigan State outrebounded Lehigh 50-31 in the contest.

With Lehigh holding a 41-39 lead, the Spartans were finally able to make a move as Green hit a pair from the line to give Michigan State a 45-41 advantage 4 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Mackey McKnight made a pair of free throws to make it 47-45, but it was the closest Lehigh would get the rest of the way as Michigan State seized control.

Dawson's layup capped off a 13-2 run as the Spartans took a 60-47 lead midway through the second half. Michigan State was able to hang on from there.

Lehigh took a 16-11 lead 7 1/2 minutes in after Greiner made 1-of-2 from the line.

McCollum was fouled on a three-point attempt with six seconds left in the half and made all three of his foul shots to give Lehigh its 38-35 lead into the locker room.

Game Notes

Green recorded his seventh double-double of the season...Appling was 12-for-12 from the free-throw line...The Spartans were 32-of-39 from the free-throw line...Lehigh connected on 8-of-23 shots from beyond the arc, while Michigan State went 4-for-11 from three-point range...Austin Thornton scored 11 points and snatched seven rebounds for Lehigh.