Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Kalin Lucas scored 15 points and Raymar Morgan added 14 points and seven rebounds, as eighth-ranked Michigan State claimed its first Big Ten championship since 2001 with a 64-59 victory over Indiana at Assembly Hall.
Lucas also had five assists, while Durrell Summers finished with 10 points for Michigan State (24-5, 14-3 Big Ten), which has won four straight since dropping a 72-54 decision to Purdue on February 17. The Spartans will host the Boilermakers in the regular-season finale for both teams on Sunday.
Chris Allen and Delvon Roe each donated seven points apiece for the Spartans, who improved to 8-1 in league road games.
Verdell Jones led Indiana (6-23, 1-16) with 15 points and five boards. The Hoosiers have dropped eight straight games since claiming a 68-60 win over Iowa on February 4. Indiana will end its dismal season when they visit Wisconsin on Sunday.
Malik Story and Nick Williams each went for 11 points, while Matt Roth logged 10 for the Hoosiers.
Indiana played the majority of the contest without leading scorer Devan Dumes, who left three minutes in after his left leg was rolled up on following a Roe layup. Dumes went to the locker room and returned to the bench a few minutes later with an ice pack on his knee, but did to return.
In the second half, with Michigan State up by 13 at 56-43 near the midway point, the hosts continued to play with pride and wouldn't go away.
Brett Finkelmeier's layup sparked a 14-3 Hoosier run over the next several minutes and following a 1-of-2 effort from the line by Jones, trailed by two, 59-57 with 3:31 left to play.
Even though the Spartans went ice cold from the field during the Indiana spurt, Michigan State would tighten things up on the defensive end in the closing minutes.
Morgan's putback slam off a missed three by Summers gave MSU a 61-57 lead with 27 seconds left on the clock. Both teams would exchange free-throws in the remaining seconds and the Spartans would hold on to claim the victory and the Big Ten title.
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