Summer, Summer, Summers Time

If the Fresh Prince had been a Spartan, he would have been proud on Sunday. In what seemed like a must win game for Michigan State, an unlikely hero stepped up to the forefront of the pack to lead the Spartans into battle against the host Buckeyes in Columbus.

 

Sophomore Durrell Summers had a much needed career game as the visiting Spartans downed the Bucks 78-67. Summers was starting in place of Kalin Lucas who benched at the start of the game due to academic reasons.

 

Coming off of a disappointing loss, the Spartans used Summers’s energy to overcome a double-digit first half deficit. The Spartans trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and trailed by six at the midway point, only to storm back and overcome the deficit by out-rebounding the Buckeyes, and taking advantage of second chance scoring.

 

Summers made the most of one of his rare starts, connecting on 6 long balls and shooting 8 of 13 overall to lead all scorers with 26 points.

 

Summers also got help from the usual suspects:

Goran Suton had 13 points to go along with 9 rebounds and Kalin Lucas put up 20 points coming off of the bench.

 

The Spartans are now 6-1 in the Big Ten, staying ahead of Illinois by ½ game. At this point, the Spartans hold their fate in their own hands. Tom Izzo’s team needs to win its remaining home games, and hoe it continues its success on the road in the Big Ten.

 

The Spartans will now stay on the road as they travel to Iowa on Thursday. The Hawkeyes are currently sitting in 9^th in the Big Ten with a 2-5 conference record. However, Iowa has only lost one game at home this year. The Spartans will look for their 5^th straight Big Ten road win.