Michigan State 60, Illinois 53

[February 23, 2015]  Michigan State 60, Illinois 53: Denzel Valentine scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds as the Spartans avoided the season sweep by the host Fighting Illini.

Branden Dawson had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Michigan State (19-8, 10-4 Big Ten), which has won four in a row. Travis Trice finished with 18 points and went 10-of-12 from the foul line.

Malcolm Hill led Illinois (17-10, 7-7 Big Ten) with 17 points and Rayvonte Rice added 15 off the bench. The Fighting Illini shot 28.8 percent from the field and finished 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

A field-goal drought of nearly nine minutes by the Fighting Illini allowed Michigan State to achieve its biggest lead of the game at 52-41 with 4:43 to play, but the hosts caught up during an 8-0 run to get within three. Nunn missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining, and the Spartans sealed the win with free throws and a dunk by Valentine for the exclamation point.

Trice, who missed his first seven shots, had six of the last eight points before halftime as the Spartans clung to a 26-22 edge heading into the locker room. Valentine scored the first five points for Michigan State out of the break and assisted Colby Wollenman on a dunk that stretched the lead to six with 15:06 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The visiting team has won the last four meetings in the series. ...Michigan State and Illinois met for the second time in two weeks. The Fighting Illini took the first game, 59-54, on Feb. 7. ...Illinois lost for just the second time at home after going 12-1 to start the season.

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