Nov. 30, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Georgia Tech’s Ra’Sean Dickey scored 24 points, and Georgia Tech’s Zam Fredrick hit the rim on a shot from about 30 feet as time expired, giving the No. 13 Spartans an 88-86 victory Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Michigan State (4-2) led the entire game, but the Yellow Jackets (2-2) never let the home team get comfortable.
Paul Davis scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half for the Spartans, but his two missed free throws with 4.3 seconds left allowed Fredrick to get off a 3-pointer that would’ve given the young Yellow Jackets a huge win.
Michigan State led by nine with 1:18, but its lead began to disappear after Anthony Morrow and Dickey made three 3-pointers while the Spartans failed to seal the victory with free throws.
Dickey dominating inside and Morrow made seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. Jeremis Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Fredrick added 11 points and 10 assists for the Yellow Jackets.
Michigan State’s Shannon Brown scored 22, Drew Neitzel had 17 points and seven assists and Maurice Ager scored 15.
The Spartans led 42-32 at halftime and, after taking a 12-point lead, the Yellow Jackets pulled to 46-43.
Davis was sensational as he made an assortment of shots midway through the second half.
He scored 15 of 19 points for the Spartans, giving them a 72-63 lead. The 6-foot-11 center scored on putbacks, a low-post move, a reverse layup, a hook, a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer.
Davis was cut below his left eyebrow with 1:37 left, but didn’t miss much time because of timeouts.
Michigan State, coming off a Final Four appearance, has a roster with some veterans while Georgia Tech lost five seniors and a junior from last season’s 20-win team.
The Yellow Jackets’ lineup with four sophomores got off to a rough start.
Michigan State scored the first seven points and led 15-5 after three-plus minutes.
Georgia Tech pulled to 27-26 midway through the first half before trailing by 10 at halftime. The Spartans would’ve led by more, but allowed 19 points off turnovers and offensive rebounds.
