Freshman trio rises to occasion in Michigan State basketball road win

Chris Solari
Detroit Free Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Tom Izzo called a timeout late in the first half, as he is known to do.

Michigan State basketball players went to the sideline to see the diagram. They nodded approvingly and trotted back onto the court.

The ball came in. It worked around to the top of the key, as the big men set down screens on the post. The guard rubbed right off the screen, caught the pass from his teammate on the curl, fire and swished the 3-pointer.

Only it wasn’t Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston connecting, as the Spartans have witnessed hundreds of times over the past three years.

Michigan State's Gabe Brown drives to the basket as Penn State's Josh Reaves defends in the second half in State College, Pa., on Sunday.

It was Aaron Henry setting up Foster Loyer, giving short-handed No. 6 MSU a glimpse of its future.

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As injuries sidelined two juniors — Langford and Kyle Ahrens — Henry, Loyer and Gabe Brown got their first taste of extended, early and important minutes in Big Ten play. The trio of rookies helped make up for the absence of their older teammates in a 71-56 victory over Penn State at Bryce Jordan Center.

“It was eye-opening and something to remember,” said Henry, who got the first start of his career on the wing. “It’s more experience, getting to know what the Big Ten is like.”

Nick Ward finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow junior Cassius Winston added 11 points and six assists as the Spartans (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) built an 18-point, first-half lead that never dipped below 10 in the final period.

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That big early cushion came off key contributions from the combination of 6-foot-6 swingman Henry, 6-7 forward Brown and 6-foot guard Loyer. They combined for 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting, five rebounds and three assists in the first 20 minutes.

“If you’re thrown out there as a freshman, you make a lot of mistakes (because) you don’t know,” Winston said. “Now, they get a chance to watch, learn, see what other people are doing, and they just follow that until they figure out their little flavor or certain things they’re good at or not.”

Henry finished with seven points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes. Brown had four rebounds with his three points in 21 minutes, and Loyer had seven points, two rebounds and an assist in 11 minutes. It was a career high in minutes for both Henry and Brown.

Langford was out for the fifth straight game with a left ankle injury, and his foot remained in a walking boot Sunday. Fellow junior Ahrens did not make the trip to Penn State with a back sprain that has him listed as day to day.

Henry quickly contributed with a drive, spin and pull-up in the paint early. He tipped in his own miss, then threw down a tomahawk dunk off another drive late in the opening half that made it 37-19 with inside of 4 minutes left.

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“I just wanted to come in and be solid and maybe pick up the scoring that dropped off with those two being injured. … I prepared for it all week. And they called my name, so I had to be ready,” Henry said of his first collegiate start. “It’s good, a great feeling. I remember my first time starting varsity in high school. It was nothing like that – obviously a way bigger stage.”

Brown hit the boards for three early rebounds and flashed his deep shooting with a 3-pointer, his 10th of the season. He also used his wingspan in defending the perimeter, holding Penn State to 5-for-22 shooting from 3-point range.

“That was a priority,” Brown said of rebounding. “This week in practice, we worked on everybody getting to the glass, everybody cutting out, just going up there and getting the ball. I felt like I needed to do that out there and just be solid on defense.

Foster Loyer dribbles the ball as Penn State's Josh Reaves defends during the second half.

Loyer had to play early as Winston struggled with fouls and turnovers. Other than having an ill-advised, 3-point attempt blocked, Loyer recovered to hit an open 3-pointer and a jumper off a screen to send MSU into halftime leading, 40-24. He also drew a pair of charging fouls against Penn State.

“For me, the biggest thing is to just go out there and play my game,” said Loyer, who grew up in Philadelphia and was wearing a Phillies hat after the win. “Part of my game is to go in there and knock down open shots and put my teammates in a position to win. … For tonight, to have two (shots) go down in the first half, it was big for me just to be able to go out there and help my team win.”

The Spartans return to the road Thursday when they travel to Nebraska (8 p.m., FS1).

With both Langford and Ahrens considered day to day with their injuries, it could mean even more of a developing role for Henry and Brown on the wing. And with the trickle-down effect of added attention and minutes impacting Winston’s performance, that could give Loyer more opportunities as well.

“I feel like it’s more defense for them, just watching more film and getting to know your (scouting report) better,” said senior guard Matt McQuaid, who scored 12 of his 15 points on four second-half 3-pointers. “But I thought they did a pretty good job today.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. 

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