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EVENTS
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ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The muscle and poise of Michigan State was too much for Gonzaga. Charlie Bell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Michigan State used a huge rebounding edge to put away Gonzaga, 77-62, in the NCAA Tournament's South Region semifinals. The Spartans (27-4) advanced to face Temple on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. "I thought in the first half, we outrebounded them, but they got to a lot of loose balls," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "In the second half, give our team credit, we came out and played awfully hard. We pounded the ball inside and forced some turnovers." Andre Hutson had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Jason Richardson added 12 and seven for Michigan State, which held a 49-29 edge on the glass. "We've been in that situation before," Bell said. "We were a little bit tired down the strethc also, but we knew it was winning time. That's the time you have to suck it up and I think we did a great job of it." A basket by Mark Spink gave Gonzaga a 44-41 lead with just under 16 minutes to play before the defending national champions took control. Freshman Marcus Taylor had a pair of baskets as Michigan State scored six straight points for a 47-44 lead with 13:19 to play. A tip-in by Richardson capped a 9-3 spurt for a 56-47 advantage with 9:11 to go. "I think we had a bigger sense of urgency in the second half," Hutson said. "They were really taking it to us and getting a lot of loose balls and tipped balls. We had to go out there and play with a little more intensity." Casey Calvary's 3-pointer cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 56-50 with 7:52 left. But the Spartans got three points apiece from Hutson and freshman Zach Randolph for a 62-50 lead with just under six minutes remaining. The lead never dipped below nine points the rest of the way. "Conventional wisdom tells you that we wanted to wear them down, especially in the first half," Izzo said. "When they started to miss jump shots short, then miss free throws short, I think that is a good sign that they were starting to wear down." The Spartans received a huge spark from Randolph and Taylor off the bench. Randolph finished with 10 points and five rebounds while Taylor had six points and five assists. Dan Dickau scored 19 points and Calvary had 17 and 11 rebounds for Gonzaga (26-7). The Bulldogs were making their third straight "Sweet 16" appearance, a feat also accomplished only by Michigan State and Duke. "Calvary, I think he is a good player, but (in the second half) he wasn't getting down the court as fast," Izzo said. "Dickau wasn't running as hard at the end as he was at the beginning, but that kid is awesome." Spink added 10 points for the Bulldogs, who came into the game with a chip on their shoulders for the "Cinderella" tag bestowed on them. Gonzaga coach Mark Few was reluctant to admit that the Spartans wore down his ball club. "I heard some of the 'wearing down' comments and I guess that's an easy take on the game," Few said. "But I prefer to think that there were two champions playing out there for 40 minutes tonight and one just came out on top." Gonzaga's starting backcourt of Dickau and Blake Stepp combined to make just 9-of-28 shots. Dickau, who was defended mostly by Bell, made five 3-pointers but Stepp converted just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. "I thought he was the best defender I've faced this year," Dickau said. "He is a very strong and physical guard, he would not quit on the defensive side of the ball and made it very tough to ghet open shots." Hutson made 8-of-11 shots, repeatedly taking advantage of the interior of the Bulldogs' defense. The Spartans finished with 18 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds. "I'm very proud of the way our guys competed all year and I think they gave a good account of themselves again tonight," Few said. "Hopefully we can end the silly mid-major talk now once and for all. I think we deserve to be considered a major basketball program and I think Tom Izzo would agree with that." The Spartans opened their largest lead of the first half at 24-16 on a basket by Adam Ballinger with less then nine minutes remaining. Gonzaga then ran off nine straight, including five by Calvary, for its first lead at 25-24 with 6:05 to go before intermission. Michigan State scored the final five points of the half for a 37-32 lead at the break. But Dickau responded with a pair of 3-pointers to open the second half for a 38-37 lead with 19 minutes to play. |
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