#7 Spartans took it to Purdue, 74-56

**Admin** Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:17 pm

It would appear that the Spartans had forgotten all about the troubles they went through during the regular season and woke up just in time for moments like this.

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 30 points to help #7 Michigan State pull of a huge win against #2 Purdue, 74-56 in the men's Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Lucas tied a career high with four 3-pointers for the Spartans (19-13), who greatly improved their chances of receiving an NCAA tournament bid. Michigan State had a 14-11 record on Feb. 15 and was in danger of being left out of the field after reaching the Final Four the past two years. But now the Spartans have won five of their past seven games.

Purdue (25-7) had defeated the Spartans twice this season, including a 67-47 win at Michigan State on Feb. 27.

JaJuan Johnson, the Big Ten player of the year, had 21 points and nine rebounds for Purdue. E’Twaun Moore added 17 points for the Boilermakers, who have lost two straight and fallen from consideration for a No. 1 seed.

Up next for Michigan State is a meeting against #6 Penn State, who defeated #3 Wisconsin in a low scoring affair, this Satuday in Big Ten semifinals at 4:15 pm.