Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 26 points, including 11 in overtime, and dished out 15 assists as No. 10 Michigan State snapped No.5 Illinois’ 12-game winning streak with an 85-82 victory in East Lansing, Mich. on Saturday.
Jaxon Kohler had 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for Michigan State (20-4, 10-3 Big Ten), while Kur Teng and Jordan Scott added 10 points apiece.
David Mirkovic had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for Illinois (20-4, 11-2), which fell out of the top spot in the conference behind Michigan. Andrej Stojakovic supplied 17 points and seven rebounds, Keaton Wagler tossed in 16 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 12.
Fears gave Michigan State a 79-76 lead with 1:47 remaining in the extra session on a three-point play. Cameron Ward’s putback of a Fears miss nudged the Spartans’ lead to five points. Fears knocked down four free throws in the closing seconds. Wagler made a 3-pointer to get it within three and then stole the ball, but Zvonimir Ivisic then missed a potential tying 3-pointer.
Mirkovic scored nine points and dished out three assists in the first half as the Illini grabbed a 39-35 halftime lead.
Illinois scored the first five points of the second half to take a nine-point lead. The Spartans then went on a 14-4 run to gain a one-point advantage with 13:19 left in regulation.
The Illini scored the next six points, including a four-point play by Jake Davis. After a Scott 3-pointer tied the score with 9:03 remaining, Illinois had a 5-0 spurt.
The visitors maintained a slim lead until Scott made two free throws with 1:49 remaining to give the Spartans a 68-67 edge. After a couple of empty possessions, Mirkovic made a layup with 32 seconds left.
Teng then missed a 3-pointer, but Kohler grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it back out to Teng, who made the second attempt from the right wing to give Michigan State a two-point advantage.
Wagler missed a 3-pointer but Davis snatched the offensive rebound and was fouled with one second left. Davis made both free throws to send the game to overtime.
