EAST LANSING, Mich. _ Michigan State's finals-week haze lasted 7 minutes Sunday.
The Spartans quickly dispatched Wisconsin-Green Bay with one of its most dominant halves in recent memory, earning a 104-83 victory at Breslin Center.
No. 9 MSU closed the opening half with a 44-11 run, behind perfect shooting from Nick Ward, who set four personal bests.
Ward finished with career highs in points (28), field goals made and attempted (12 of 13) and blocked shots (four). Five other players scored in double figures, with point guard Cassius Winston adding 16 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.
The Spartans (9-2), who went over the 100-point mark for the third time this season, are off until they host Oakland on Friday.
Ward could not be stopped on the block and around the rim, particularly in the first half.
The 6-foot-9 junior forward hit layup after layup down low, including a pair of personal six-point runs. Ward was 9-for-9 in the fist half with 22 points, as MSU pulled to a 64-35 lead at the half.
In the second half, with the Spartans coasting, Ward hit his first two shots before missing his only shot with 10:40 to play.
The Phoenix (6-6) gave MSU fits early in the game, making 10 of their first 15 shots and scoring from seemingly improbable angles and desperation flings. They went up five on a 3-pointer by Sandy Cohen III, and were up 24-20 when Cohen hit a fadeaway jumper on the right block.
That's when the Spartans took flight.
Senior Matt McQuaid, making his first start in more than three weeks, scored five straight points to spark MSU's knockout run. That was the start of a 16-0 burst that gave the Spartans the lead for good on a 3-pointer by McQuaid, who returned at Florida on Dec. 8 from a thigh bruise that forced him out for three games.
Ward scored 18 of his points in the final 10:03 of the half. MSU was 15 of 22 in the final 12:43.
Green Bay shot 4 of 23 over the final 13 minutes of the period.
The Spartans led by as many as 34 in the second half, shooting 50.7 percent for the game.
Winston tied a career high with 12 assists, seven of them coming in the first half.
But the junior point guard was not alone. The Spartans had 31 assists on 38 made field goals.
A pair of freshmen set new career highs, as MSU coach Tom Izzo was able to give his newcomers extended minutes in the blowout. Guard Foster Loyer scored 10 points, and swingman Gabe Brown had 11, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Junior guard Joshua Langford added 13 points and seven rebounds for MSU.
The Spartans also crushed the Phoenix on the boards, 56-34. Senior Kenny Goins also had nine rebounds and sophomore Xavier Tillman grabbed eight.
