Michigan St. Spartans vs Iowa Hawkeyes Match Player Stats On Feb 02, 2021

Luka Garza scored 27 points, including the 2,000th of his career, and grabbed 12 rebounds as No. 8 Iowa held off slumping Michigan State 84-78 in Iowa City on Tuesday.

Jack Nunge contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Hawkeyes (13-4, 7-3 Big Ten). Joe Toussaint added 10 points and handed out six assists.

Aaron Henry topped Michigan State (8-7, 2-7) with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Joshua Langford had 15 points but shot 5-for-16 from the field. Joey Hauser chipped in 10 points with nine rebounds, but the Spartans, who were ranked as high as No. 4 earlier this season, dropped their fourth straight.

Garza scored 15 first-half points as the Hawkeyes led 48-43 at halftime. Henry matched that output for Michigan State.

The Spartans led by double digits less than six minutes into the contest and took their biggest lead at 26-15 on a Rocket Watts 3-pointer.

Garza gave Iowa, which outscored the visitors 26-6 in the paint during the half, its first lead of the game with 2:12 left on a three-point play. That made it 41-38. Nunge scored five points in the last 1:33 to nudge the lead to five points.

Garza reached the 2,000-point mark with a 3-pointer early in the second half, giving the Hawkeyes a 53-46 lead.

With Iowa up by eight, the Spartans went on a 12-2 run to take a 61-59 lead. Hauser and Henry made 3-pointers during that stretch.

Leading 69-68, Iowa gave itself some breathing room with a 10-2 run that included two inside baskets by Garza. Michigan State responded with an 8-1 spurt to pull within two points at 80-78. Hauser scored the first four points in that span.

The Spartans had a chance to tie it in the final minute, but Langford's midrange shot popped out. Iowa secured the rebound and Jordan Bohannon made two free throws with 15 seconds left.

After Watts missed a 3-point try, Bohannon sank two more free throws to clinch Iowa's win.

--Field Level Media