EAST LANSING, Mich. _ The halftime locker room must have been something.
Struggling to finish games all season, No. 24 Michigan State finally did so on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center, riding Cassius Winston and Rocket Watts to a 78-70 victory over No. 18 Iowa, moving the Spartans slightly ahead in the logjam that is second place in the Big Ten with three games to play in the regular season.
Winston, who had one point in the first half, scored 19 in the second half to finish with 20 and nine assists while Watts matched a career-high 21, including a clutch 3-pointer in the final stretch. Aaron Henry added 17 points for the Spartans (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten), who head to first-place Maryland on Saturday.
Luka Garza scored 20 for Iowa (19-9, 10-7), but was limited to eight points in the second half. Ryan Kriener added 18 points for the Hawkeyes while Connor McCaffery chipped in 11 points.
Michigan State found itself shorthanded less than five minutes into the game as Tillman picked up his second foul with 15:12 left in the half and was forced to sit until halftime.
Iowa took advantage, pounding the ball into Garza, who scored 12 in the first half. Michigan State went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead, but it was all Iowa from there as the Hawkeyes scored the next seven points and led, 31-25, with two minutes to play in the half after Garza scored in the paint. The teams traded buckets to close the half as Iowa led, 33-27.
Iowa outrebounded Michigan State, 22-16, in the first half while the Spartans were just 1-for-9 from 3-point range.
Winston caught fire early in the second half after Iowa had taken its biggest lead at 42-32 with 17:26 left in the game. After a Watts 3-pointer and a free throw from Tillman, Winston scored 11 points in a row to spark a run that finished with the Spartans ahead, 53-51, with 11 minutes to play.
Iowa responded as Michigan State turned the ball over on two straight possessions. The Hawkeyes retook the lead and pushed their advantage to 60-56 before Henry scored on a baseline jumper and split a pair of free throws. After Iowa split a pair, Winston and Henry hit two each to give the Spartans a 63-61 lead with 4:17 to play.
Watts hit a triple to put MSU up five but Iowa answered with its own 3-pointer. The Spartans then got jumpers from Henry and Watts and a pair of free throws from Winston to push the lead to 72-64. Iowa got as close as 73-68 with 29 seconds left in the game but the Spartans put the game away at the free-throw line.
