For the second straight day in the Bahamas, Michigan State found itself in a one-possession game in the final minute.
And once again, the Spartans overcame some earlier miscues to make plays down the stretch and seal a close win.
The Spartans came back from five points down in the final two minutes to go on a nine-point run and beat Connecticut, 64-60, in a Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal game on Thursday afternoon in Nassau, Bahamas.
Forward Julius Marble II scored eight straight Michigan State points in a span of less than two minutes starting at the 3:07 mark to help his team come back to within one point with a chance to win the game in the final minute.
Point guard A.J. Hoggard was fouled with 30 seconds left, on a call that was vigorously protested by Huskies coach Dan Hurley, and hit both free throws to give his team a one-point lead.
Spartans forward Malik Hall then recorded a steal on the other end and hit two free throws to give his team a three-point cushion. Connecticut air-balled a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left amid some tight Michigan State defense and the Spartans held on for their second win in as many days.
Michigan State will now play either Baylor or VCU in a tournament championship game matchup at 11 a.m. on Friday.
The dramatic final minutes came after Michigan State lost a lead that was once as large as 14 points, as its offense sputtered after halftime and a physical and athletic Huskies team mounted a comeback.
But Marble, who averaged 6.4 points per game entering the day, took over down the stretch as an unlikely late hero with 13 second-half points. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line late and made two baskets near the hoop, one on a goaltending call with 2:32 left and another on a feed from A.J. Hoggard with 1:07 left that brought the Spartans within one.
The Spartans advanced to the semifinal matchup with Connecticut thanks to a Wednesday win over Loyola Chicago, when a Marcus Bingham Jr. dunk with two seconds left sent the Spartans to a two-point win.
Michigan State kept that momentum going when it led by as many as 14 points in the first half a day later, as Gabe Brown was aggressive making shots and Joey Hauser made a pair of 3-pointers. The Spartans also held Connecticut to a 3-for-18 shooting start with another strong defensive showing that helped them go into halftime ahead by eight.
But an 8-for-10 shooting start to the second half allowed the Huskies to climb all the way back from an eight-point halftime deficit at the 15:16 mark, when Martin blocked a Brown shot and ran down the floor for the game-tying dunk.
Hall recorded a game-high 24 points against Loyola on 9-for-9 shooting, but a day later was held scoreless until two free throws in the final minute. No Spartans player took control early in offensively challenged second half: Michigan State started 6-for-22 with eight turnovers, until Marble’s late heroics helped the Spartans pull out the win.
Brown’s 16 points led the Spartans, followed by 15 from Marble.
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Late 9-point run helps Michigan State come back to beat Connecticut - mlive.com
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