No. 13 Michigan State earns close road win over No. 8 Purdue, 76-74

Carson Cooper scored 15 points, Kur Teng had 13 and No. 13 Michigan State survived Braden Smith’s missed 3-point attempt with one second left for a 76-74 victory over No. 8 Purdue on Thursday night. Jeremy Fears Jr. added 12 and Coen Carr had 11 for the Spartans (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten), who ended a seven-game losing streak at Purdue. Smith, who became the fifth player in Division I history to reach 1,000 career assists, finished with 12 points and 10 assists for Purdue (22-6, 12-5). Jack Benter had 11 points for the Boilermakers. After Smith’s two free throws cut the deficit to 66-64 with 5:48 left, the Spartans responded with a 6-0 run. Trailing 74-67, Smith made a 3-pointer and a layup to cut the lead to 74-72 with 2:16 to play. Trailing 76-74, Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn missed a chance to tie with a jumper in the lane with eight seconds remaining. Michigan State’s Cam Ward missed the start of the one-on-one. The Boilermakers got the rebound and called a timeout with 3.4 seconds left to set up the final shot. Michigan State shot 53% while Purdue hit 49%. Purdue had nine turnovers, three more than Michigan State. The Boilermakers took a 39-36 lead into halftime. Michigan State hit 48 percent in the first half with seven lead turnovers. Oscar Cluff, who had all 10 of his points in the first half, scored to give Purdue a 36-34 lead with 2:55 left in the first half. Purdue sank 6 of 11 3-pointers in the first half while Michigan State went 3 of 9 on 3-pointers. Purdue’s largest lead in the first half was 13-6. The Spartans used a 10-0 run to take a 16-13 lead with 12:28 left in the first half. Next, Michigan State plays at Indiana on Sunday, while Purdue is at Ohio State. Associated Press reporting.