Michigan State basketball's A.J. Hoggard career night leads to 67-58 win over Penn State
A.J. Hoggard turned in a homecoming to remember for Michigan State basketball.
The junior guard had a career-high 23 points as the Spartans got a much-needed 67-58 victory against Penn State on Wednesday at Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Hoggard, a native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, who did not start MSU’s loss Sunday against Northwestern, scored at all three levels against the Nittany Lions. He had a pair of three-point plays to help the Spartans (6-4, 1-1 Big Ten) recover from a 10-point first-half deficit to pull into a halftime tie. Then in the second half, Hoggard continued to attack with his jumper and scored 13 points, including four free throws in the final two minutes as MSU pulled away.
“I’m so proud of my team. I’m proud of A.J., I’m happy for him.” MSU coach Tom Izzo told Big Ten Network after the game. “We needed this win, we got this win. We showed a little character.”
Joey Hauser had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, and Tyson Walker added 10 of his 14 points in the second half.
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Jalen Pickett finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists for Penn State (6-3, 0-1). Seth Lundy added 16 points and Camren Wynter scored 10 for the Nittany Lions, who shot just 34.5% overall. MSU’s defense held the dangerous 3-point shooting team to just 8-for-27 from beyond the arc.
The Spartans return to nonconference action Saturday when they host Brown. Tipoff it 4:30 p.m. at Breslin Center (BTN).
Slow out of the gates
MSU fell behind quickly as the Nittany Lions did what they have done almost all season, create from outside.
After missing their first four 3-point attempts, Wynter and Caleb Dorsey drained back-to-back bombs from outside. Myles Dread caught Hauser late and hit another, then got fouled by Hauser on another outside shot and hit three free throws to put PSU up, 16-6, at 12:31 thanks to that 12-2 run.
The Spartans, however, chipped away methodically by focusing on pumping the ball into the paint. Mady Sissoko went to the bench with two fouls with a little more than 9 minutes to go in the half, and freshman Jaxon Kohler put together his best minutes of the season by equaling his previous career high with six points on a foul-line jumper and a pair of nifty post-up moves on the block. Kohler’s third bucket of the half cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to four with 7:45 to go in the half.
Kohler and Hauser also created as defenses collapsed on them in the paint with inside-out passes to Jaden Akins, who hit a pair of 3-pointers. Then Hoggard atoned for a 5-second call turnover by responding with a pair of three-point plays, finishing with 10 points in the first period as MSU rallied into halftime tied at 35-all.
The Spartans hit 48.4% of their shots, and their defense limited PSU to 37.9% shooting from the field. The Nittany Lions — who entered leading the nation at 12.1 3-pointers per game and ranked 14th at 40.4% shooting from deep — made just 7 of 18 attempts (38.9%) from beyond the arc in the first half.
Sharing the ball
Out of the break, both teams continued to go back and forth and prevented the other from getting too far in front. Penn State scored the first four after half, starting with a Seth Lundy 3-pointer, but Walker answered with a 3-pointer after that initial burst.
Hoggard started finding his groove again, hitting an open 3-pointer off a Walker kickout — the Spartans’ inside-out passing was big all night. Then Hoggard hit his midrange stride, with three jumpers inside the arc. Walker drained another 3 to put MSU up, 56-52, with 6:50 to play.
“I just think I had a lot of growing up to do,” Hoggard told BTN. “I had to be better for my team. Coach put a fire up under me and told me what I needed to do, told me his reasons why, and I just kind of responded.”
Hauser shook off his early defensive woes and crashed the boards with tenacity, and the Spartans continued to bottle up the Nittany Lions from the perimeter. Penn State was 1-for-9 from 3-point range in the second half. Hauser’s layup with 2:22 to play started a 9-2 finishing run.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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Next up: Bears
Matchup: Michigan State (6-4) vs. Brown (5-4).
Tipoff: 4:30 p.m. Saturday; Breslin Center, East Lansing.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WJR-AM (760).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard leads way in 67-58 win over Penn State
