Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan State
Wildcats Fall To 20th-Ranked Spartans, 87-58
1/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2005
Box Score
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Maurice Ager scored 18 points and Paul Davis had 17 to lead No. 20 Michigan State past Northwestern 87-58 Saturday for its seventh straight win.
The Spartans (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) have won their first two conference games for the first time since 2000, when they won the national championship. They beat Penn State on Wednesday.
Mike Thompson, a Duke transfer, led the Wildcats (8-6, 1-1) with 16 points.
Michigan State took control with a 17-5 run midway through the first half, giving it a 31-16 lead. The Spartans led 39-24 at halftime.
Northwestern made it 50-40 early in the second half before five Spartans scored during a 14-5 run and they pulled away again.
Alan Anderson scored 13 for the Spartans, reserve Kelvin Torbert had 12 and three others scored at least six points.
Ager likely wishes he played the Wildcats more often.
The guard, who scored a career-high 24 points against Northwestern at home last year, has averaged 15.6 points against the Wildcats and has made 16 of 19 three pointers against them. Overall, Ager averages less than nine points a game and makes less than 39 percent of his 3-pointers.
Northwestern's Vedran Vukusic scored 12 points despite hurting his right shoulder again. Vukusic injured his shoulder midway through the first half, but returned early in the second half.
