EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State needed a spark in the second half Sunday night against Western Michigan, and Joey Hauser was more than happy to take over.
The former Marquette transfer scored a career-high 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers to lead No. 8 Michigan State to a 79-61 victory over Western Michigan at the Breslin Center.
Hauser, who also pulled down 10 rebounds against the Broncos, scored 15 in the opener against Eastern Michigan this season, but his previous career-best came in January 2019 at Marquette when he scored 21 against Xavier.
Aaron Henry added 12 points and Rocket Watts chipped in 10 for the Spartans (5-0), who travel to Virginia on Wednesday to take on the Cavaliers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
B. Artis White scored 19 to lead Western Michigan (0-2) with Titus Wright scoring 16 and grabbing 10 rebounds for the Broncos.
For the second time in as many games, Michigan State started slowly against a mid-major team from the state. This time it was Western Michigan that showed no fear, using an 8-0 run to turn a 12-9 deficit into a 17-12 lead. Henry then scored three in a row then split a pair of free throws to pull Michigan State within 20-19.
After Josiah Freeman hit a 3-pointer for the Broncos, Michigan State started to ramp things up on the defensive end, sparking a 14-2 run that ended with a Joshua Langford 3-pointer and the Spartans up, 33-25. The Broncos were 1-for-8 from the field during the Spartans' run while Michigan State was 6-for-7 in the same stretch.
The lead grew to 10 late in the half for Michigan State, but the Spartans' shot selection suffered down the stretch as they missed their final six shots, including a contested 3-pointer on the final possession to take a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Michigan State had a far better start to the second half, getting a 3-pointer from Hauser followed by a pair of dunks from Marcus Bingham. When Henry hit a jumper from the free-throw line, the Spartans were up, 52-41, with 15:30 to play.
Just as quickly as it looked like the Spartans were taking over, however, they turned the ball over on four straight possessions as the Broncos scored seven in a row to pull within 52-48. Michigan State committed two more turnovers but managed to push the lead to 59-52 after a Hauser 3 and some misses from the Broncos.
After a jumper from Freeman, Michigan State ripped off a 14-2 run to essentially put the game away with Hauser hitting three of his 3-pointers in that stretch.
Henry, one of three team captains, did not start on Sunday after being late for a team meeting.
Henry was replaced in the starting lineup by junior Gabe Brown but checked in with 15:35 to play in the opening half. Langford returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday's game against Detroit Mercy with a sore knee while Hauser was also back in the starting lineup after banging his knee against the Titans.
