No. 11 Michigan State 91, No. 25 Northwestern 70: Spartans Send Wildcats Back To The Unranked

Read more at our Spartans blog, The Only Colors, and our Wildcats blog, Sippin On Purple.

January 2, 2010 - Evanston, IL (Sports Network) - Kalin Lucas had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists to help 11th-ranked Michigan State take a 91-70 win over No. 25 Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Durrell Summers had 17 points and seven rebounds and Raymar Morgan added 17 points, five boards and five assists for the Spartans (11-3, 1-0 Big 10), who have won two straight and six of seven overall.

John Shurna had 29 points and six rebounds and Alex Marcotullio donated 16 points for the Wildcats (10-3, 0-2), who have dropped their past two games following in a nine-game winning streak.

With the Wildcats holding an early lead, the Spartans ripped off a 7-0 run to take a 15-9 advantage on a Summers slam eight minutes in.

A three-pointer from Marcotullio followed by a three-ball and layup from Shurna gave Northwestern a 19-17 advantage halfway through the first half and the team later had a 25-22 lead on a Marcotullio three-pointer three minutes later.

Michigan State, though, closed the half on a 14-3 run with Morgan’s three- pointer just before the buzzer giving his team a 42-33 advantage at the break.

Northwestern kept the game close through the first several minutes of the second half as a Drew Crawford layup made it a 50-41 contest a bit less than four minutes in.

Michigan State then ripped off a 14-2 burst and held a 64-43 lead after Morgan capped the run with a pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes to play.

The deficit proved too much for Northwestern as the team was unable to get back to within single-digits and Michigan State cruised to the finish line.

Michigan State hosts Wisconsin on Wednesday...Northwestern hosts Texas Pan- American on Thursday...Draymond Green had 13 points and five rebounds for Michigan State...The Spartans lead the series with the Wildcats, 78-37.