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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan St 88, Penn St. 57
When: 12:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan
Officials: # Bo Boroski, # Tom Eades, # John Higgins
Attendance: 14759

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Tom Izzo just wants his team to stay the course. Patrick Chambers just wants his team to get some respect.

The two coaches had very different agendas after another dominant outing by No. 6 Michigan State.

Izzo's club remained white hot by cruising to its fourth consecutive victory, an 88-57 thumping of Penn State on Sunday at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans never trailed despite missing 12 of their first 15 field-goal attempts. Their defense, which held the Nittany Lions' 32.2 percent shooting, and rebounding remained steady until the offense perked up.

"Our guys inside came to play," Izzo said after his team outrebounded Penn State 51-33. "Those guys today, they played like men. That's the difference. We play like that inside, our guards will be good enough."

The best of those guards, senior Denzel Valentine, dictated the action. He had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes.

"Denzel was valuable again because he did a lot of things," Izzo said. "He got guys to the line, he got (Penn State) in foul trouble, he made some big shots, made some great passes ... it was kind of our day."

It certainly wasn't a good day for the Nittany Lions' coach or his team. Chambers was ejected with 4:53 remaining in the first half for arguing with the officials. Chambers was whistled for two technicals after senior forward Brandon Taylor was charged with an offensive foul.

Taylor, averaging a team-high 16.6 points, was held to two points before fouling out.

"These kids work so hard for us, the coaching staff, and for Penn State and we have to continue to fight," Chambers said. "If I feel like that's being taken away from them, then I'm going to fight for them. I'm going to fight for my best player, Brandon Taylor. ... We're going to buck the system of being the brunt of everybody's jokes."

Freshman power forward Deyonta Davis contributed 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks for the Spartans (24-5, 11-5 Big Ten), who never trailed while winning for the eighth time in nine games.

Spartans senior shooting guard Bryn Forbes scored 15 points and senior center Matt Costello notched his 11th career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Michigan State, which scored a season-high 52 first-half points, won the first meeting 92-65 on Jan. 10. The Spartans' last seven victories have been by double digits, all but one of those by at least 19 points.

"We're in one-and-done mode," Spartans junior guard Eron Harris said. "We're practicing for the Big Ten tournament, we're practicing for the (NCAA) tournament. Every team is just as good as the next, so we have to play our best game."

Sophomore guard Shep Garner's 22 points led the Nittany Lions (15-14, 6-10), who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Penn State defeated two ranked teams, Indiana and Iowa, at home this month but couldn't duplicate that with three players fouling out.

"Everything's got to be pretty perfect for us," Chambers said. "Our margin for error is very small. If I can't have my best players on the floor, chances start to decrease, especially when you're playing Michigan State, who is at its peak right now."

Chambers' frustration built as the Spartans steadily increased their lead.

When Valentine stole a pass and hit Forbes with a crosscourt feed for a 3-pointer, the Spartans' advantage was 28-9.

Michigan State led by 17 when Chambers, who had to be restrained from the official crew, was escorted from the court. Chambers also received a technical during the Nittany Lions' 66-60 loss at Michigan State last season and criticized the officiating afterward.

The Spartans turned his latest outburst into a six-point possession, as Valentine made three of the four throws before Forbes hit another 3-pointer.

That made it 41-18 and the lead grew to as much as 28 before the Spartans headed to the locker room up 52-27.

NOTES: The Spartans are averaging 79.5 points per game, the highest average in Tom Izzo's 21 years as head coach. The 2004-05 squad averaged 78.5 points. ... Penn State has recorded at least 15 wins in three consecutive seasons for the first time since joining the Big Ten in 1992-93. ... Michigan State entered the weekend leading the nation in assists (20.5 per game), rebounding margin (11.3) and 3-point percentage (43.2). ... The Spartans are now 21-0 when leading at halftime. ... The Nittany Lions play their last two regular-season games at home against Northwestern on Thursday and Illinois on Sunday. ... Michigan State is 22-1 against Penn State in East Lansing.
Top Game Performances
 
Penn St.   Michigan St
Shep Garner 22 Scoring Denzel Valentine 19
Devin Foster 5 Assists Denzel Valentine 6
Julian Moore 6 Rebounds Matt Costello 11
Shep Garner 4 Free Throws Made Denzel Valentine 5
Payton Banks 1 Steals Denzel Valentine 2
Jordan Dickerson 2 Blocks Deyonta Davis 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Penn St. 57 32.2 9-22 10-19 9 29 5 3 6
Michigan St 88 44.4 10-22 22-33 22 49 6 3 11