No. 13 Ohio State 78, No. 10 Michigan State 67 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2000
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By Rusty Miller
%^$Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – George Reese scored 19 points off the bench and No. 13%^$Ohio State overcame heavy foul trouble to beat Michigan State 78-67 Thursday%^$night, ending the Spartans’ Big Ten winning streak at 21 games.%^$
Michigan State (12-5 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) hadn’t lost in the conference%^$since the Big Ten opener a year ago, winning the last 15 regular-season games%^$and the conference tournament. The streak was the fourth-longest in Big Ten%^$history.%^$
Five teams now have one loss in the wide-open Big Ten race, and two more%^$teams are just a game back.%^$
The victory was sweet payback for Ohio State (12-3, 4-1), which had lost 10%^$straight to Michigan State. The Spartans had won a school-record eight straight%^$Big Ten road games.%^$
Reese, a starter earlier in the season and now the sixth man, hit 8-of-13%^$shots. Scoonie Penn added 16 points, Brian Brown and Michael Redd each had 14%^$and Ken Johnson, the nation’s leading shot-blocker, was a factor in the middle%^$with four blocks and eight points.%^$
Morris Peterson scored 20 points, Andre Hutson 14, A.J. Granger 11 and%^$Mateen Cleaves 10 for Michigan State. Charlie Bell, the Spartans’ No. 2 scorer%^$at 12.8 a game, got his only basket with 3:24 left and finished with six%^$points.%^$
Reese’s free throw with 12:06 left in the half broke a 15-15 tie and Ohio%^$State led thereafter, building margins to 13 points in the second half.%^$
Michigan State got as close as 71-65 with 2:11 left after a 6-0 run capped%^$by Cleaves’ free throw.%^$
Redd scored in the lane with 1:55 left and, after Cleaves missed a jumper,%^$Johnson hit two foul shots for a 75-65 lead.%^$
Michigan State, which led the nation with a plus-12 rebounding margin,%^$outrebounded Ohio State only 34-31. The Spartans, averaging 17 turnovers a%^$game, had 11 at halftime and finished with 18 to Ohio State’s nine.
