The Sports Xchange
Dec 29, 2017
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Joshua Langford tied his career high with 23 points and No. 2 Michigan State collected its 12th consecutive victory by crushing Cleveland State 111-61 on Friday at the Breslin Center.
Langford, a sophomore guard, shot 9-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 on 3-point tries. He also scored 23 against North Carolina earlier this season.
Center Nick Ward piled up 22 points and 14 rebounds and Miles Bridges posted 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Spartans (13-1). Freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while Cassius Winston added 11 points and four assists. Reserve guard Matt McQuaid also tossed in 11 points for Michigan State, which has won by double-digit margins in all of its victories.
The Spartans shot a season-high 65.1 percent from the field (41 of 63) while holding the Vikings to 32.8 percent shooting (19 of 58).
Senior guard Bobby Ward scored a career-high 26 points for Cleveland State (3-10), which has dropped four straight. Word's previous best was 25 points against Western Michigan last season. Anthony Wright added 14 points for the Vikings.
The Spartans exceeded the 100-point mark for the third consecutive game, the first time they've done that since the first three games of the 2004-05 season. They had 107 points against Houston Baptist and 102 points against Long Beach State in their previous two outings.
Michigan State led 63-25 at the break, its highest-scoring half this season.
The Spartans turned this one into a rout in the opening minutes. Winston scored on a layup 10 seconds into the game and Langford's baseline jumper 2:30 into the contest established a double-digit advantage.
Ward made a pair of free throws at the 11:35 mark to nudge the lead over 20 at 27-6. Bridges' corner 3-pointer late in the half bumped the advantage to 30 at 50-20.
The lead continued to mushroom in the second half. Gavin Schilling's three-point play with 11:52 remaining made 81-30. It reached 57 at 90-33 midway through the half on a Bridges' jumper.
NOTES: The teams had not faced each other since Dec. 16, 2005. The Spartans have won all nine meetings. ... Cleveland State has an 0-8 road record. ... Vikings assistant coach Bryan Tibaldi was a walk-on for the Spartans from 2005-07. ... Cleveland State begins its Horizon League schedule against Youngstown State on New Year's Day, while Michigan State closes out in non-conference slate against Savannah State on Sunday.