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Michigan State pulls away late to beat Texas

Dec 22, 2013 - 12:58 AM Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Adreian Payne erupted for a career-high 33 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting display as No. 5 Michigan State pulled away from Texas en route to a 92-78 win at Frank Erwin Center.

Payne also pulled down nine rebounds for the Spartans (10-1), who rose to the occasion in their first true road test by making 50 percent of their shots and holding the Longhorns to 39.3 percent shooting.

"I had to establish myself in the post because if I didn't, it would have made it harder for the guards to knock down their shots and make it harder for them to play," Payne said. "That's what I wanted to do, establish myself in the post and see how it goes from there."

Gary Harris chipped in with 19 points and five assists, while Branden Dawson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State, which has won three straight in the wake of its lone loss to North Carolina.

Texas (10-2) beat those same Tar Heels on Wednesday but failed to extend its six-game winning streak. Cameron Ridley scored 17 points for the Longhorns and Isaiah Taylor added 16 in the loss.

Michigan State took control with a quick 14-2 run in the middle stages of the second half. The Spartans' biggest lead prior to the 3 1/2-minute flurry was just three points, but by the time Payne sank two free throws with 7:26 remaining, their lead grew to 66-56.

The Longhorns went nearly six minutes without a field goal and went 1-for-2 from the foul line four times during the drought.

"We knew that Michigan State was going to come out fighting," Taylor said. "Unfortunately the first couple of minutes of the second half we didn't match their intensity, but we played hard and we showed some resilience."

The Spartans stayed ahead by making 24-of-29 at the stripe in the second half while committing just one turnover over the final 11 minutes after totaling a dozen up to that point.

The closest it got down the stretch was eight points.

Texas essentially led the entire first half, going up by as many as seven and taking a 38-36 lead into the locker room after Javan Felix's late bucket.

It was back-and-forth in the early portion of the second half, and consecutive baskets inside by Jonathan Holmes gave the Longhorns a 54-52 lead before the Spartans' game-altering run.

Game Notes

Payne's previous career-best point total was 29 in a win over Virginia Tech last month ... Texas suffered its first home loss of the season ... Ridley also grabbed nine rebounds ... Michigan State owned a 43-33 rebounding advantage, thanks in part to Denzel Valentine coming down with 11 boards.