Valentine, MSU defense stop OSU

Associated Press

CHICAGO

Denzel Valentine had 23 points and Branden Dawson anchored Michigan State’s stout defense, leading the Spartans to a 76-67 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday night.

Travis Trice scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half as the Spartans (22-10) advanced to the Big Ten semifinals for the fifth straight year. They are trying for their second straight tournament title and third in four seasons.

Next up for third-seeded Michigan State is No. 2 seed Maryland, which advanced with a 75-69 victory over Indiana. The eighth-ranked Terrapins beat the visiting Spartans 75-59 on Jan. 17.

D’Angelo Russell had 19 points for sixth-seeded Ohio State (23-10), which had won four of five. Shannon Scott had 13 points and nine assists after he scored a career-high 21 in Thursday night’s 79-73 victory over Minnesota.

The Buckeyes, likely headed for their seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth, shot 39.7 percent (23 for 58) from the field.

Dawson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots. With Ohio State trying to rally in the second half, the senior rejected Scott’s layup attempt and then hustled down for a dunk on the other end that lifted the Spartans to a 47-37 lead.

Trice scored eight in a row for Michigan State, helping the Spartans increase their lead to 17 at 60-43, but the Buckeyes battled back. Marc Loving’s 3-pointer made it a five-point game with three minutes left.

Trice then made two foul shots and Dawson had a rebound dunk on the break, making it 65-56 with 2 1/2 minutes to go. The Buckeyes then had to foul down the stretch and the Spartans wrapped it up at the line.

Valentine also hurt Ohio State in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 14, making a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left in Michigan State’s 59-56 victory. The junior guard finished with a game-high 17 points.

It was more of the same in the rematch.

Valentine scored 12 points in the first half and the Spartans led by as many as 16 on their way to a 36-28 advantage at the break. He also had five of Michigan State’s 13 first-half assists on 15 field goals, and the Spartans used their swarming defense to hold Ohio State to 33.3 percent shooting.