Neitzel leads Spartans past Illini

Posted: Thu Mar 6 11:35 PM

Champaign, IL (Sports Network) - Drew Neitzel scored 17 points to lead the 17th-ranked Michigan State Spartans past the Fighting Illini of Illinois, 59-51.

Drew Naymick added 12 points for the Spartans (24-6, 12-5 Big Ten), who have won two in a row and four of five. Goran Suton ended with 10 points to match his 10 rebounds.

Shaun Pruitt scored 13 points for Illinois (12-18, 4-13), which has let four of its last five contests slip away. Brian Randle ended with seven points and Chester Frazier six in defeat.

A free throw from Randle and one from Pruitt pulled Illinois within 53-47 with just over two minutes on the clock.

Down by six with 53.1 ticks left, Kalin Lucas was called for the offensive foul and Ilinois was awarded possession. Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham both bricked their respective three-point attempts and Suton was fouled for Michigan State. He hit both shots to put the game away, 57-49.

The Spartans hit 10-of-11 free throws, while the Fighting Illini hit only 9-of-19 from the charity stripe.

Three straight buckets from Mike Tisdale, Meacham and Rodney Alexander put the Fighting Illini on top 21-11 with 10:46 left before the break.

A three from Neitzel and a tip-in from Travis Walton made it a two-point game, 26-24, with 4:33 left to play before the half.

The teams wound up even at 31 heading into their respective locker rooms.

Two Naymick buckets, and a trey from Neitzel, opened a 38-31 Spartans advantage about 2 1/2 minutes into the second stanza.

Michigan State's lead hovered around six until a Frazier trey pulled the Fighting Illini to 44-41 with just over nine minutes left.

Moments later, a Neitzel three and a Suton jumper gave the Spartans a 51-43 lead with 6:06 to play. Game Notes

The schools combined to shoot 7-of-27 from beyond the arc...The Illini close out the regular season at home against Minnesota on Saturday. The Spartans close out their regular season at Ohio State on Sunday.