Michigan State beats Georgia, 70-63
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forward Brenden Dawson scored all 14 of his points in the second half to help carry Michigan State to a 70-63 victory over Georgia in the second round of the NCAA East Regional on Friday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Forward Denzel Valentine’s 16 points and guard Travis Trice’s 15 points, with 11 coming in the first half, also helped seventh-seeded Michigan State. Guard Bryn Forbes added 14 points off the bench.
Guard Charles Mann’s 19 points paced 10th-seeded Georgia (21-12). Guard Kenny Gaines fouled out with 15 points and forward Marcus Thornton had 12.
Michigan State (24-11) goes on to meet the winner of the Belmont-Virginia game Sunday. If the opponent is Virginia, it will be a rematch of an East Regional Sweet 16 matchup won by the Spartans last year.
To hold off Georgia, Valentine scored the last eight Michigan State points in the final 2:05.
After trailing by 13 points, Georgia made a final challenge. When Mann scored off an offensive rebound with 34 seconds left, it closed the gap to 64-58. Mann missed an ensuing free throw.
Valentine’s two free throws with 27 seconds left might have clinched it, but Gaines notched a three-point play with 20 seconds to go.
Valentine then made two more pairs of free throws.
Dawson, who finished 6 of 9 from the field, converted two three-point plays in a 33-second span in the second half. Later, his jumper with six minutes to play gave the Spartans a 60-47 lead.
Michigan State scored the final eight points of the first half to build a 35-22 lead. The Spartans were in control even though only three starters scored.
Georgia shot 28 percent from the field (7 of 25) in the first half, when the Bulldogs also committed 10 turnovers.
Michigan State scored 10 consecutive points while Georgia endured nearly a four-minute scoring drought, taking a 20-14 lead.
Gaines, the team’s second-leading scorer, was back in the starting lineup after missing two recent games with a foot injury. He accounted for the Bulldogs’ first two field goals of the game.
NOTES: Michigan State matched the Big Ten Conference record for longest streak of NCAA Tournament appearances at 18 years in a row. It ties Indiana’s mark from 1966 to 2003. … The Spartans improved to 23-6 all time in opening games of the tournament. … This was the first meeting between Georgia and Michigan State. … Georgia made it into the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 2011. Just like the last time the Bulldogs were included, they were assigned the No. 10 seed and sent to Charlotte. … Georgia fell to 1-4 in games on neutral courts this season.