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EAST LANSING, Michigan — Joey Hauser and AJ Hoggard hit double-doubles and Michigan State welcomed Malik Hall back onto the court Friday night in an 89-68 win over Buffalo.
Hall, a double-digit scorer who missed the last eight games with a left foot injury, had his minutes capped at 12 but scored 11 points. Hauser had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Hoggard had 11 points with 10 assists. Jaden Akins hit all three of his 3-point attempts for 13 points.
The Spartans (9-4) shot 51% as they won their fourth straight game. They continue Tuesday’s Big Ten game against Nebraska.
Isaiah Adams had 15 points with three 3-pointers, Curtis Jones and LaQuill Hardnett added 12 points each and Armoni Foster had 10 for the Bulls (6-7), who open Tuesday’s Mid-American Conference action when they host are for Ohio.
Buffalo scored the first eight points of the second half to go for three, but Akins hit a 3-pointer and Mady Sissoko had two dunks in a 13-4 run. The lead stayed in double figures and the Spartans put the game away by outplaying the Bulls 17-2 in 5 1/2 minutes, giving them their biggest lead of 26 with less than three minutes remaining.
Despite a 1-of-7 start, the Spartans shot 47% and took a 41-30 lead at halftime, behind nine points from Hall and eight rebounds from Hauser, while the Bulls shot just 30%. A 3-pointer from Akins finally gave the Spartans the lead, starting a 20-8 run over seven minutes that gave Michigan State a 29-17 lead.
This was the fifth inter-school meeting, all won by Michigan State, but the first since 1938.
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/ AP_Top25
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