Georgetown muscles Michigan State out of Madison Square Garden, Spartans fall 64-60

Michigan State's injuries caught up to them on Saturday, as the Spartans lacked continuity throughout their 64-60 loss to Georgetown at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

NEW YORK — Georgetown's size and desire proved too much for Michigan State to overcome Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

The Hoyas (12-9) snapped a five-game losing streak with the 64-60 victory over the No. 7 Spartans (19-3) in the teams' second-ever meeting and first since Michigan State won an 80-68 affair in the 1986 NCAA tournament in Dayton, Ohio.

Gary Harris scored nine of his team-high 20 points in the final five minutes, but it was too little, too late for Michigan State.

The Spartans -- still without starting forwards Adreian Payne (foot) and Branden Dawson (hand) -- started their 12th different lineup of the season. The lack of continuity was obvious in the half court.

The bigger and stronger Hoyas were able to muscle Michigan State on the inside, leading to a 37-30 edge on the boards and 32-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Georgetown also got to the free-throw line more often, making 18-of-24 while the Spartans were 9-of-16.

Harris, despite his strong finishing kick, did not enjoy a good afternoon in the NBA arena, making only 2-of-5 free throws and pulling down just one rebound with only one assist in his 35 minutes.

Keith Appling was held to just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Georgetown opened the second half on an 11-2 run to take its largest lead of the game when Markel Starks (16 points) drained a 3-pointer to make it 40-32 with 14:25 left to play.

The Spartans were unable to pull even the remainder of the game.

Appling split a pair of free throws after Starks' basket to cut the lead to seven before Harris provided the Spartans' highlight of the game. He drove the length of the court and sliced through the Hoyas' defense en route to a thunderous one-handed dunk with 12:50 left.

Michigan State held a 30-29 lead at the half, largely on the strength of Kenny Kaminski's nine points off 3-of-4 shooting beyond the 3-point arc and its defense.

The Spartans forced 11 turnovers through the first half, somewhat mitigating Georgetown's ability to get to the free-throw line.

Georgetown was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line in the first half, while the Spartans only got to the line four times, making three of them.

Michigan State returns to action 9 p.m. Thursday at Breslin Center against Penn State.

It was Payne's seventh consecutive missed game (foot) and Dawson's third in a row (hand). Izzo has said it's possible Payne could be back for the Big Ten battle against the Nittany Lions.

The Spartans fell to 2-10 all-time at Madison Square Garden, including 2-6 under Izzo.

It was Georgetown's first win against a Big Ten team since defeating Michigan, 67-51, during the 2006-07 season.

MSU highlights

-- Michigan State used a 10-0 run to surge ahead in the first half, holding Georgetown without a field goal for 6:01. The Spartans forced four turnovers and blocked three shots during a run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Kenny Kaminski and Gary Harris.

— Kenny Kaminski responded to being pulled out of the starting lineup with 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc early to lead Spartans' scorers at the half with nine points.

— Harris, despite a mostly sluggish shooting night, drained a 3-pointer in front of the Michigan State bench that drew a fist pump from Izzo and cut the Georgetown lead to three points with 4:01 remaining.

MSU lowlights

-- It was a forgettable first half for guard Travis Trice, who was 0-for-5 shooting (0-for-3 from 3-point range) and turned the ball over twice.

-- The Spartans struggled to keep Georgetown out of the paint, and the result was the Hoyas getting to the free-throw line 13 times through the first 20 minutes. Georgetown made 11 of its shots from the stripe in the first half.

— Denzel Valentine missed the front end of a one-and-one with 5:30 left and Michigan State trailing 48-45. The miss came with the momentum in the balance and the action heating up. Michigan State was only 7-of-12 from the line the game's first 35 minutes.

— What to watch for revisited

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he was treating the neutral site, non-conference game with Georgetown like an NCAA tournament game. The Hoyas were a tough prep with their Princeton offense, zone tendencies and physical play.

The Spartans half-court offense struggled early, but that was on account of missing open shots more than having trouble running the offense.

-- Postgame question

Does Michigan State need Adreian Payne to return to beat Penn State on Thursday night?

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