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EAST LANSING – Nick Ward came out of halftime with a wrist wrap on his left hand. Cassius Winston could not hit his shot and took his third foul.

Xavier Tillman sat on the bench, in trouble, joining Aaron Henry who did not start the second half and played sparingly.

No. 11 Michigan State basketball needed a spark against Ohio State with its two stars in trouble and a disjointed regular rotation.

He found it from unexpected sources. Beginning in defense.

Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins, Kyle Ahrens, Thomas Kithier and Foster Loyer, a motley group of players and reservists, helped the Spartans to stand out with a 13-4 win, their first win against the 62-44's. Breslin Sunday afternoon. Center.

McQuaid scored 14 points, 10 points and 10 rebounds and Ahrens six points. This trio combined for eight points at three points with the stars having a day off.

Winston finished with 13 points, but managed only 3 of 15 shots. He had eight assists.

MSU (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) returned to first place with Michigan and hosted Rutgers at 18:30. Wednesday (Big Ten network). The Spartans then go to Ann Arbor on Sunday (3:45 pm, CBS).

OSU (16-9, 6-8) was only 4-21 in the second half, while the Spartans defeated the Buckeyes, 37-13, during the period. Kaleb Wesson was the only OSU double-digit player with 12 points.

Mystery injury

Ward scored nine points and got four rebounds at half-time, finishing with six boards. However, he returned from the locker room with a green envelope on his left wrist and did not start the second half.

It was unclear how the 6-foot-9 junior striker had hurt his hand, but he played 59 seconds into the match. But the hand and / or wrist clearly bothered him and he headed for the bench. He played 19 minutes and 26 seconds in total and missed the final at 1:25 pm and held his hand with discomfort.

MSU coach Tom Izzo said after the match that Ward "may have dislocated a finger or something here" on his hand, but that more information will only be known when he is in charge. after his medical treatment.

Henry played at 9:48 and finished without scoring.

From back to back

The Spartans followed up to nine goals in the first period, but never let things get lost with the time lost. That included a 7-0 run after the Buckeyes started, 14-5, then another 8-0 run with 3 points from Ahrens and McQuaid.

But the state of Ohio took advantage of the disappointing absence of MSU, which included three of the Spartans' four turnovers in the 6:43 final of the period. The Buckeyes scored 7-0 to close the half and take a 31-25 lead in the locker room.

After the break, the Spartans went into defensive lock mode. They forced the Buckeyes to miss their first seven throws and scored the first seven points of the second half – five of them on a Goins 3 pointer and a dunk to open the period.

The Spartans, however, could not deviate before Winston went to the dock with his third foul, scoring a loaded goal at 10:03.

Rent replaced it, and Goins and Ahrens scored three points to start the big race, with another Goins rider and a McQuaid pointer. Kither finished 10-0 with a layup.

Ohio State did not score a goal for the final at 7:37 of the match. Winston made six free throws in 3:47 final to help seal the win.

Contact Chris Solari at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Learn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.