Dec. 5, 1996

Spartans Extinguish Flames 90-60

Twelve different Spartans scored as Michigan State had its way with Illinois-Chicago in a 30-point win. MSU's depth has had its effect on opponents so far this season.

"I'll be shocked if we don't play 10 guys all year," said MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo. "You might as well get used to it. I think we may be fresher at the end because of it. That could be why we're shooting better and (opponents) aren't shooting as well in the second half."

Freshman guard Mateen Cleaves had his best night yet as a Spartan as he led the team in scoring with 14 points and added 3 assists. Cleaves is still trying to recover from a back injury that has slowed the high school All-American and limited his practice time this season.

"I'm not saying that I'm completely back," Cleaves said, "but that (reverse lay-up) was a sign that I'm getting my strength back -- and with that strength, my confidence is coming back. The second half was a lot of fun. It reminded me a little of the way I'm used to playing."

The more that Cleaves' back heals, the more he'll be able to play at the point guard position. That would allow teammate Thomas Kelley to play at the shooting guard position, a position that he's more accustomed to. Kelley had 7 assists and 9 points on the night.

"We're going to create some problems for teams when the both of us are on the floor together," Cleaves said. "It's still going to take some time, but we're starting to come together as a unit."

Coach Izzo was pleased with the progress that Mateen has made but knows that he's not yet at 100%.

"I think because of the injury it takes him longer to warm up," MSU Coach Tom Izzo said. "Every game he has played better in the second half. I thought he was a lot more under control tonight.

"It was good to see him shoot the ball well. He almost had a double-double in points (14) and turnovers (eight). I'll have to talk to him about that. A couple guys missed passes, but Mateen is still far from where he's got to be."

The Spartans also enjoyed a 40-26 edge in rebounding. Senior forward Jon Garavaglia's 10 boards lead the way.

Next up for the team is a December 14th road game at 7:30 p.m. against the Detroit Titans in Cobo Arena.

STATISTICS
                     1ST 2ND     TOTAL
ILLINOIS CHI         24  36         60
MICHIGAN ST          35  55         90    FINAL
HIGH SCORERS
ILLINOIS CHI - BRYANT LOWE 14, ANTHONY COOMES 12, MARK MILLER 8
MICHIGAN ST - RAY WEATHERS 14, MATEEN CLEAVES 14, JON GARAVAGLIA 12 
HIGH REBOUND
ILLINOIS CHI - CLIFTON JACKSON 8, CLIFFTON FLAGG 5
MICHIGAN ST - JON GARAVAGLIA 10, DAVID THOMAS 7 
HIGH ASSISTS
ILLINOIS CHI - JIMMY SEXTON 4, TWO PLAYERS WITH 2
MICHIGAN ST - THOMAS KELLEY 7, MATEEN CLEAVES 3 
ATTENDANCE: 11,881 
ILLINOIS CHI (60)
                     fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Jackson         30   1-4   0-0   5-8  0  3    2
Lowe            28  7-11   0-1   0-4  1  1   14
Flagg           27   3-8   0-0   3-5  0  1    6
Miller          22   4-8   0-0   0-2  2  1    8
Coomes          26   4-9   3-3   1-1  2  2   12
Walker          10   0-4   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Kimbrough        7   2-6   0-0   3-4  1  0    4
Hobbs            6   0-1   2-2   0-0  0  2    2
Sexton          16   1-5   0-0   0-1  4  2    2
King            10   3-4   0-0   0-1  0  2    7
Christensen     12   1-3   1-2   0-0  0  2    3
Collins          6   0-0   0-0   0-0  1  1    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 26-63   6-8 12-26 11 17   60
Percentages: FG-.413, FT-.750. 
3-Point Goals: Kimbrough 0-2, Sexton 0-2, King 1-1). 
Team rebounds: 4. 
Blocked shots: 5 (Flagg 3, Collins, Lowe). 
Turnovers: 24 (Miller 9, Lowe 7, Coomes 2, Jackson 2, Flagg, Kimbrough, King, Walker).
Steals: 6 (Christensen, Coomes, Jackson, Lowe, Miller, Sexton).
MICHIGAN ST (90)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Smith           21   3-7   3-3   2-3  2  2    9
Klein           17   2-3   0-0   2-3  0  2    6
Garavaglia      25   4-7   4-4  1-10  1  1   12
Kelley          24   4-6   1-1   1-3  7  0    9
Weathers        18   4-8   4-4   0-1  2  3   14
Thomas          17   1-5   2-2   4-7  2  1    4
Cleaves         21   6-8   0-0   2-2  3  3   14
Webber           6   0-3   2-2   2-2  1  1    2
Polonowski      11   1-1   1-2   0-2  0  1    4
Peterson        17   2-9   0-0   1-3  1  2    4
Granger         10   1-1   2-4   0-2  0  0    4
Wiley           13   4-6   0-0   1-2  0  0    8
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 32-64 19-22 16-40 19 16   90
Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.864. 
3-Point Goals: 7-15, .467 (Klein 2-3, Garavaglia 0-1, Kelly 0-1, Weathers 2-3, Thomas
0-1, Cleaves 2-2, Polonowski 1-1, Peterson 0-3).
Team rebounds: 2. 
Blocked shots: 2 (Kelly, Wiley). 
Turnovers: 20 (Cleaves 8, Weathers 4, Kelley 2, Klein, Peterson, Polonowski, Smith,
Webber, Wiley).
Steals: 11 (Thomas 4, Garavaglia 3, Kelley 2, Klein, Weathers).
Technical fouls: None.  
A: 11,881. 
Officials: Ted Hillary, Daniel Chrisman, Lenny Memminger.

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