No. 5 Spartans improve to 9-0 in Big Ten
January 31, 2010
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)—Durrell Summers started each half with an alley-oopdunk and finished with a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, leading No. 5Michigan State to a 79-70 win over Northwestern on Saturday night.
The Spartans (19-3) are off to their first 9-0 start in Big Ten play.
John Shurna made six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points for theWildcats (14-7, 3-6). Shurna had 20 points midway through the second half, whilehis teammates combined for just 19.
Michigan State opened the second half with an 18-4 run after leading by justtwo at halftime following six lead changes and four ties.
Kalin Lucas had 23 points, Draymond Green had nine points, 11 rebounds andfour assists, and Delvon Roe scored 13 for the Spartans.
Raymar Morgan fouled out without a point on an 0-for-5 night after missingonly one of 15 shots in the previous two games—a pair of one-point wins on theroad against Michigan and Minnesota.
Summers has been inconsistent throughout his three-year career, impressingNBA scouts with his jaw-dropping talent and befuddling those same people duringgames in which he is barely noticed.
The 6-foot-4 guard was at his best against the Wildcats.
He soared for alley-oop dunks to open each half against their zone, made3-pointers, pull-up jumpers and dunked in a half-court set late in the game whenthey were rallying.
Summers’ performance rivaled the 21-point, 11-rebound game he had in a winthis season against Gonzaga, when he set a season high and broke his career markin rebounds.
The junior from Detroit was held scoreless this season against Wisconsin andThe Citadel, but might be showing signs of dependability. He was spectacular onegame after scoring 10 and grabbing 10 rebounds in Tuesday night’s thriller overMichigan.
As dominant as Summers and the Spartans were at times, they couldn’t putNorthwestern away.
Drew Crawford made a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left, giving the Wildcats asecond player with double digits in scoring and pulling them within eightpoints. Crawford and Jeremy Nash finished with 12 points each.
Shurna’s layup made it 71-65 with 1 1/2 minutes left and that shot matched theprevious career high of 29 he had Jan. 2 in a 21-point loss to Michigan State.
The Spartans made enough free throws the rest of the way to avoid gettingstunned by Northwestern at home for the second straight season.
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