Ward perfect, keys Spartans’ victory

Nick Ward made all 10 of his shots, scored a careerhigh 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 10 Michigan State to a 90-68 win over No. 18 Iowa on Monday night in East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans (7-2, 2-0 Big Ten) trailed for more than six minutes in the first half and were behind by as much as six points before a Wardled surge gave them a 43-33 lead at halftime.

The Hawkeyes (6-2, 0-2) had no hope for a comeback because they missed 18 of 19 shots to open the second half.

Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman scored a careerhigh 14 points and had eight rebounds off the bench. Nick Goins scored 19, surpassing his combined points from the previous five games, and Joshua Langford added 14 for the Spartans.

Iowa’s Tyler Cook scored 15 points, Isaiah Moss had 13 points and Jordan Bohannon added 11.

The Hawkeyes, who came into the game averaging 82.6 points, made just 33 percent of their shots and allowed the Spartans to con- nect on 52 percent of their shots.

Pittsburgh upset: Keleaf Tate scored 17 points, James Towns added 12 points and a career-high nine assists and Niagara stunned Pittsburgh, 71-70, on Monday night.

Dominic Robb, a Pittsburgh native and the nation’s leader in blocked shots, finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks for the Purple Eagles (3-4), who built a 12-point second-half lead and then fended off a late rally by the Panthers.

Xavier Johnson led Pitt (7-2) with 19 points but his layup just before the buzzer rolled out. The ball was batted to midcourt as time expired and Niagara’s bench poured onto the court. Au’Diese Toney added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, but Pitt was outrebounded 38-31 and let Niagara shoot 48 percent (27 of 56) from the field.

The Purple Eagles, picked to finish ninth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, won despite playing their fourth straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Marvin Prochet.