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No. 19 Michigan State cruises past Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Dec 7, 2014 - 4:45 AM East Lansing, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Travis Trice and Matt Costello each scored 15 points as No. 19 Michigan State thumped Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 85-52, on Saturday.

Branden Dawson scored 12 points with seven rebounds and Bryn Forbes added 12 points for the Spartans (6-3), who were coming off back-to-back losses, including a one-point overtime setback to Notre Dame on Wednesday.

"I thought the unselfishness and the way we defended pretty well was great," said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "And then we did what teams do, I am going to try not to let it ruin a good day. I was really disappointed with the second half."

Marcel Mosley had 19 points and Ghiavonnie Robinson added 13 for the Golden Lions (1-7), who have dropped their past five games.

The Spartans led this game from start to finish and built an 18-7 lead six minutes in after Costello hit a pair of free throws.

A 12-0 run from Michigan State later in the half saw the team build its lead to 25 after Trice hit a pair of free throws for a 36-11 advantage. The Spartans wound up with a 54-20 lead after 20 minutes.

An 11-0 run from the Golden Lions saw the team cut its deficit to 65-39 with 10 1/2 minutes to play.

"We did a better job in the second half," said Arkansas head coach George Ivory. "I think Michigan State did a great job coming out and shooting the basketball. They did an outstanding job. It was an experience with the guys."

Any thoughts of a comeback, though, were quickly put to bed as Michigan State scored the next nine points with Dawson's tip-in giving the team a 74-39 lead with seven minutes to play.

Game Notes

Michigan State has off until next Sunday when it hosts Oakland ... The only other meeting in this series occurred in December of 2012, when the Spartans took a 76-44 victory ... Michigan State was a crisp 60 percent (30-for-50) from the floor, including 10-of-18 from 3-point range.