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No.19 Michigan State cruises past Tuskegee

Dec 16, 2012 - 6:06 AM East Lansing, MI (Sports Network) - Keith Appling posted a game-high 25 points as No. 19 Michigan State rolled over Tuskegee, 92-56, in the first basketball game played at Jenison Fieldhouse in 13 years.

Jenison Fieldhouse was the home for Spartan basketball for 50 seasons from 1940-89 before the team moved to the Breslin Center in 1990.

Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix each added a double-double for the Spartans (9-2), who have won four straight.

Payne finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Nix scored 11 points and pulled down 13 boards in the victory.

Calvin Thomas had 14 points and Javier McKinney dropped in 12 for Tuskegee (1-5), which was coming off its lone win of the season.

"We played a good team. They're not ranked number 19 in the nation for nothing," Tuskegee coach Leon Douglas said.

The Spartans opened the first half with a 19-6 run and looked to have put the game away early, but after Travis Trice's 3-pointer capped the early push, Michigan State would not score another basket for five-plus minutes.

The Golden Tigers took advantage of the drought with a 15-4 spurt to get back within 23-21 with just under five minutes left in the first half.

That is as close as Tuskegee would get, however, as the Spartans scored the next eight points to open up a double-digit lead before an Elliot Dean triple made it a 33-26 game at the break.

Tuskegee shot just 11-for-37 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but was able to take advantage of 12 Spartan turnovers to keep the game in reach.

The Golden Tigers shooting woes continued in the second half, though, as they connected on just 10-of-35 shots.

Michigan State was able to take advantage this time, using an early 14-1 run to jump ahead, 53-35.

Camden Foster's three-point play put a brief halt to the run, but the Spartans reeled off the game's next nine points to take a comfortable 62-38 advantage with 9:32 left in the contest and cruised to the victory from there.

"I was worried about how we'd perform and my worries came true that first half, but thank goodness we bounced back," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I don't think we're quite ready for where we need to be yet, but I think this week will be a good week and we'll get a lot done."

Game Notes

The last official game played at Jenison was a 79-67 Spartan win over Wichita State on March 20, 1989 ... Trice finished with six points, four assists and three rebounds ... Michigan State finished with 22 turnovers ... The Spartans shot 44.8 percent from the floor in the game.