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No. 19 Michigan State clobbers Loyola-Chicago

Nov 22, 2014 - 4:46 AM East Lansing, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Branden Dawson and Marvin Clark Jr. each scored 15 points as 19th-ranked Michigan State rolled to an 87-52 win over Loyola-Chicago in its home opener on Friday.

Matt Costello and Travis Trice each netted 13, with Costello grabbing 11 rebounds for the Spartans (2-1), who bounced back from Tuesday's 81-71 loss to fourth-ranked Duke. Denzel Valentine added 12 points with seven assists and six rebounds.

"I thought we did some things that were really well that we needed to do," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said.

Milton Doyle was the only player for the Ramblers (2-1) to score in double figures with 13.

"Well that was painful, for you to watch and us to coach in," said Ramblers coach Porter Moser.

Costello scored the first six points for the Spartans as they raced out to a 17-2 lead following Valentine's jumper with 11 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Montel James then converted a jumper to halt the surge before Doyle canned a 3-pointer for the Ramblers. The brief momentum from the visitors wouldn't hold, however, as Dawson answered Doyle's make with back-to-back buckets to start a 12-0 run that made it 29-7 prior to the six-minute mark.

Michigan State's offense and defense continued to dominate over the closing minutes, with Valentine's layup capping a 6-0 run for the hosts over the final 3:27 for a 38-14 lead at halftime.

Trice's three-point play before the first media timeout gave the Spartans a 48-16 lead ,and they coasted to the finish.

Game Notes

Michigan State has won its last 38 home openers ... The Spartans shot 36- for-57 (63.2 percent) from the floor and limited the Ramblers to 20-of-58 (34.5 percent) shooting ... Michigan State had a 40-23 rebounding edge ... Trice also dished out seven assists.