EAST LANSING, Mich. _ Tom Izzo promised that Florida Gulf Coast would present a tough challenge to No. 13 Michigan State.
He might not have realized just how tough it would be for his Spartans to survive.
Cassius Winston made a free throw and forced a tie-up on a loose ball after he missed the second, Miles Bridges hit a pair of free throws, and MSU hung on for a wild 78-77 victory over the Eagles tonight at Breslin Center.
Senior Eron Harris scored 31 points, including 6 of 6 3-pointers, as freshman phenom Bridges was kept quiet for much of the night (13 points on 4 of 12 shooting, seven rebounds).
But Harris missed a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds to play, giving the Eagles a chance to win it. Bridges swatted the first attempt back out of bounds, leaving FGCU with 1.6 left.
Christian Terrell's long throw to Antravious Simmons was in the air when the horn sounded, with the clock appearing to start too early. Refs reviewed and deemed the game over.
The Eagles (1-3) outrebounded the Spartans, 41-29, and outscored them, 40-22, in the paint. Simmons finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Goodwin added 18 points and RaySean Scott Jr. scored 14.
Florida Gulf Coast took its first lead of the game less than 3 minutes into the second half on back-to-back buckets by VCU transfer Simmons, who used all of his 6-foot-9 frame to his advantage in the post against the undersized Spartans (2-2).
Harris quickly countered by draining a 3-pointer to give MSU back the lead. Nick Ward scored five straight points, then Harris netted another triple as part of an 11-3 run.
The Eagles wouldn't fly away, though. After Harris' fourth 3-pointer with 7:57 to play, MSU went ice cold from the floor. Rayjon Tucker drained a triple, sparking an 11-2 FGCU run. The Spartans didn't help themselves, missing 4 of 6 free-throw attempts in that 4-minute, 40-second run by the Eagles.
Harris' foul shot tied it at 64 with 4:44 left. But after a protracted airborne battle above the rim, Brandon Goodwin got the loose ball at the top of the key and fed a wrap-around pass for a Simmons dunk. Goodwin then swooped in for a layup with 3:41 left that gave FGCU a 68-64 lead.
Bridges made a free throw and missed the second, but Kenny Goins got an offensive rebound, the Spartans swung the ball around the perimeter, and Harris buried another 3-pointer to tie the game.
Back and forth it went. The Spartans took a two-point lead on Joshua Langford's free throws, but an open layup by Terrell tied it for FGCU. Bridges hit a hook on the left block off a set play, but the Eagles knotted it again on a Zach Johnson putback dunk with 35 seconds remaining.
Winston was fouled with 22.2 seconds left, making one of two and diving after the loose ball. Bridges hit his free throws with 16.5 left that proved to be the winners.
MSU's defense started off strong, holding Florida Gulf Coast without a field goal until a layup 7 minutes into the game. With Bridges kept silent for much of the opening half, Harris found his shooting rhythm.
Harris drained a jumper to open the scoring, then scored 10 straight points _ including a pair of 3-pointers _ to give MSU a 19-11 lead near the midpoint of the period.
Bridges finally got going with an up-and-under, reverse dunk and then a three-pointer. Harris hit a free throw with 1:39 to play before intermission to give the Spartans a nine-point cushion, their largest of the half.
But the Eagles took advantage of some lapses, a blown call and Izzo's first technical foul of the season. FGCU's Brandon Goodwin got a layup on the missed baseline traveling violation. While Izzo raced down the sideline to scream at the referee, Goodwin stole the inbounds pass and layed it in.
Terrell hit the technical free throws, then Goodwin buried an end-of-shot clock 3-pointer 11 ticks before halftime to send the Eagles into the locker room down two, 38-36.
Harris had 17 points for MSU in the opening half. Bridges scored five points. Former walk-on Matt Van Dyk, pressed into duty with Kenny Goins and Nick Ward on the bench with two fouls each, also had five points in 8 minutes.
FGCU recovered from its slow start to make 13 of its final 22 shots. The Spartans turned the ball over nine times in the period, leading to 11 Eagles points, and also had 12 second-chance points on five offensive rebounds. Goodwin had 11 points at intermission.
MSU leaves Monday for Nassau, Bahamas, where the Spartans will play St. John's on Wednesday (7 p.m./axsTV) in the first of three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
