Ward scores 25 to lead Michigan State over Oakland

[December 22, 2016]  Ward scores 25 to lead Michigan State over Oakland

Freshman center Nick Ward had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 77-65 win over Oakland University on Wednesday.

Senior guard Eron Harris added 15 for the Spartans (8-5) in a matchup of two teams that were coming off home losses to Northeastern earlier this week.

Four players scored in double-figures for Oakland, which is now 0-15 all-time against Michigan State.

Junior guard Stevie Clark had 13 points, juniors Martez Walker and Jalen Hayes each scored 11 points and senior Sherron Dorsey-Walker added 10 points for the Golden Grizzlies.

Hayes fouled out with 7:56 remaining after playing just 12 minutes.

After leading at halftime by a score of 34-32, Michigan State started to gain some separation midway through the second half, extending its lead to 52-41 with 11:50 remaining and holding Oakland without a field goal for nearly five minutes during that stretch.

Oakland (9-3) responded with a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 52-48 with 10:15 left, but Michigan State restored its lead to 11 points at 61-50 following a 3-pointer by senior Eron Harris with 6:55 remaining.

The Golden Grizzlies closed within six points at 71-65 with 39.3 seconds left, but four straight free throws by Michigan State upped the Spartans lead to 75-65 with 25 seconds remaining to effectively end the game.

This was the last non-conference game of the season for Michigan State, which enters Big 10 play 8-5 and in need of a good conference record to extend its streak of NCAA tournament appearances to 20.

The Spartans will open conference play on Tuesday at Minnesota.

Oakland will have a non-conference home game on Friday against Georgia before opening up conference play at Wright State on Dec. 29.

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