Brown leads No. 16 MSU past slumping Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan State returned to its home

court Saturday and got back in the Big Ten race.

Shannon Brown scored 26 points to lead No. 16 Michigan State

past Michigan, 90-71. The win -- coupled with an Iowa loss at

Minnesota -- leaves the Spartans one game behind four other

conference teams in the loss column.

Michigan State (19-7, 7-5 Big Ten) is now a perfect 11-0 at

home, including 5-0 in the conference. Three of its final four

regular-season games are at home as it chases leaders Iowa, Ohio

State, Wisconsin and Illinois.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak -- both on the road

-- for the Spartans.

"It sures feel good to be home," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo

said. "I can't tell you how much that helped some of our

players."

Maurice Ager added 19 points and Paul Davis had 18 points and 12

rebounds for the Spartans. Drew Neitzel had 13 points and 12

assists with just one turnover.

Daniel Horton led Michigan (17-7, 7-6) with 19 points. Courtney

Sims and Graham Brown each had 15 for the injury-riddled

Wolverines.

Michigan took a 13-5 lead early but struggled to overcome the

loss of forward Chris Hunter, who played only the first 2 minutes

and left with a knee injury.

Michigan was already without forward Lester Abram, who has

missed several games with ankle and toe injuries.

Michigan State shot 55 percent from the field. Ager, in

particular, broke out of a recent shooting slump, making two

3-pointers to cap a 15-6 run that gave the Spartans a 57-41 lead.

Brown had several highlight-reel dunks and layups to pump up the

home crowd.

"We always felt we were a national championship-contending

team," Brown said. "And when we're hitting on all four cylinders,

it's tough."

Michigan State has won 13 of the last 15 meetings against its

instate rival, including eight straight at home. Michigan has not

won in East Lansing or pulled off a season sweep of the Spartans

since 1997.

Michigan beat the Spartans 72-67 in Ann Arbor in their first

meeting this season.

This time, Michigan State outrebounded Michigan 35 to 25 and

Brown, Ager and Neitzel dominated on the outside.

"They were charged. They were ready," Michigan coach Tommy

Amaker said of the Spartans. "It was role-reversal from the

previous game."

Michigan is seeking to make the NCAA field for the first time

since 1998 and trying to stay in the Big Ten race. Amaker was

keeping the faith after the disappointing showing against the

Spartans.

"We're still in the thick of things," he said. "I'm confident

we're going to be fine."

The intense game featured some trash-talking and 41 personal

fouls. Michigan's Brent Petway and Michigan State's Marquise Gray

were charged with technical fouls after a shoving match in the

second half.

"All of it wasn't trash talk or bad talk," Horton said.

"That's part of basketball. Guys are going to say things."

About an hour before the game, a Michigan State student was

taken to a hospital after an altercation with Michigan reserve

Amadou Ba. Video of the incident shows Ba was sitting in the first

row courtside during a pregame warmup period.

A male fan walked past Ba, then came back toward him. Ba stood

up and shoved the fan, who fell to the floor.

The fan was taken to a Lansing hospital, but the extent of his

injuries was unclear, Michigan State spokesman Terry Denbow said

after the game. The student appeared to be intoxicated, Denbow

said.