Bridges carries Spartans in rout
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Miles Bridges leaped for a lob and dunked over a 6-foot-10 center, made four three-pointers and sprinted around screens to set up some shots in between. He’s back. Bridges matched his career high with 33 points, leading No. 2 Michigan State in a 107-62 win over Houston Baptist on Monday night.
“You can see his athleticism is finally back,” Spartans Coach Tom Izzo said. “Offensively, Miles was as good as he’s been since he’s been here.”
The sophomore sprained his left ankle in the third game of the season, keeping him out of one game and slowing him in some additional games.
Bridges has looked like a preseason All-American in some games since the injury, but he often deferred to teammates when he had the ball. Against the Huskies, he was in attack mode.
“I was just trying to find the open spots and my teammates were finding me,” he said. “I was trying to get everything they gave me, but everything felt good.”
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward had 20 points in the first half, making 8 of 11 shots and going 3 of 6 beyond the arc. He finished 11 of 14 overall, 4 of 7 on three-pointers and 7 of 7 at the line to match the 33-point total he had last season against Purdue.
Michigan State (11-1) has won 10 straight since losing to top-ranked Duke.
The Spartans set a school record with 16 blocked shots. Freshman Jaren Jackson had six blocks before fouling out in 18 minutes, and Nick Ward had four blocks to go with his 20 points and six rebounds. Joshua Langford added 14 points.
In other games involving Associated Press Top 25 teams, Killian Tillie scored a career-high 27 points, and No. 12 Gonzaga beat Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 101-71 in Spokane, Wash. Johnathan Williams added 17 points and 14 rebounds for Gonzaga (10-2). T.J. Henderson scored 18 points for IUPUI (2-8), which has lost six consecutive games . ... Svi Mykhailiuk made six three-pointers and scored 26 points, Devonte Graham added 17 and No. 14 Kansas rolled to a 109-64 victory over Nebraksa-Omaha in Lawrence, Kan. Lagerald Vick added 15 points and Malik Newman had 14 for the Jayhawks (92), who enjoyed a breather after a tough string of games. … Vladimir Brodziansky had 18 points and 10 rebounds, leading undefeated No. 15 over winless Texas Southern 91-72 in Fort Worth. Consecutive three-pointers from Alex Robinson and Kenrich Williams sparked a second-half surge, giving the Horned Frogs (11-0) some breathing room after a close first half . ... Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Allonzo Trier added 15 before leaving with a left knee injury, and No. 18 Arizona overwhelmed North Dakota State 83-53 in Tucson, Ariz. With the Wildcats well in control midway through the second half, Trier went down writhing in pain after banging knees with North Dakota State’s Paul Miller. Trier returned to the end of the bench late in the second half with an ice bag on his knee. Phil Cofer scored 19 points, and No. 24 Florida State bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 69-58 win over Charleston Southern in Tallahasse, Fla. Terance Mann added 17 points for the Seminoles (10-1), who lost to Oklahoma State on Saturday . ... Marcus Foster scored 22 of his 32 points in the first half, and No. 25 Creighton beat Texas-Arlington 90-81 in Omaha, Neb., for its fourth consecutive victory. Khyri Thomas added 16 points and Mitch Ballock scored 14 for the Bluejays (9-2), who came in averaging 90.2 points per game, tied for eighth nationally and tops among Big East teams.