Michigan State 82, Penn State 67

[February 07, 2014]  EAST LANSING, Mich. — No. 8 Michigan State 82, Penn State 67: Kenny Kaminski scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the shorthanded Spartans coasted past the visiting Nittany Lions.

Adreian Payne returned from a seven-game absence and added 12 points off the bench but Keith Appling (wrist) joined Branden Dawson (hand) on the injured list and sat out the contest for Michigan State (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten). Gary Harris helped pick up the slack with 14 points while Denzel Valentine collected 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals, and Matt Costello scored 10 for the Spartans.

Tim Frazier scored 22 points to lead Penn State (12-11, 3-7), which had a three-game winning streak come to an end. D.J. Newbill added 17 points but no one else scored more than eight for the Nittany Lions.

Payne got off the bench early and contributed six points to a 15-4 burst that pushed the Spartans in front 22-8 less than 10 minutes into the game. Harris and Kaminsky hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch it to 35-16 and Michigan State went into the half with a 46-30 cushion.

Travis Trice’s 3-pointer extended the lead to 58-36 just over five minutes into the second before Penn State showed some life with an 8-0 spurt. Kaminsky and Harris once again went back-to-back from beyond the arc to spread the lead back to 20 points and the Spartans cruised the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Frazier went 3-of-4 from 3-point range but the rest of the Nittany Lions combined for a 2-of-18 effort from beyond the arc. … Michigan State clinched its 14th 20-win season in the last 17 campaigns. … The Spartans recorded 22 assists on 28 field goals and went 12-of-23 from 3-point range.

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