It was a tough afternoon for Rutgers Basketball as it fell to No. 8 Michigan State 81-74 at Madison Square Garden.
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It was a struggle offensively for Rutgers (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) as it finished the day 34 percent (23-for-68) from the field, despite a season-high 26 points from Jordan Derkack who went 7-for-11 from the floor with four rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights fought until the end and cut it to a 77-71 game with 28 seconds remaining following a 3-pointer from Derkack, but the deficit was too much to overcome as Michigan State (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) iced the game away with free throws.
Ace Bailey had a hard time getting anything going as he was held to just four field goals on 17 shots. He finished with 18 points thanks in part to hitting all eight of his free throw attempts.
Dylan Harper gave it a go, despite being limited with an ankle injury, but contributed just six points in 13 minutes.
Rutgers went cold at an inopportune time as Michigan State went on a 7-0 run to open up a 56-44 lead with 9:48 remaining in the game while the Scarlet Knights made just one of its next 13 field goals. The Spartans pushed it to a 61-48 game with 7:57 left following a 3-pointer from Jase Richardson.
Michigan State finished 48 percent (27-for-56) from the field, led by Richardson who had 20 points and four rebounds. Coen Carr added 14 points and eight rebounds while going 5-for-5 from the field. Jaden Akins tallied 12 points and five rebounds.
It was a game of runs in the first half as Rutgers went into halftime trailing 35-32, despite missing 11 straight shots at one point and going on a nine-minute field goal drought.
Derkack provided a spark for Rutgers in the first half with 11 points, including going 3-for-4 from the 3-point line. He also tied the game at 28 with 1:51 remaining in the first half following a three-point play.
Rutgers opened up the game with a 10-3 lead, forcing Michigan State into two turnovers. The Spartans responded though with a 20-3 run to take a 23-13 lead with 8:08 remaining in the first half.
Bailey went just 2-for-7 from the field in the first half, but sank all four of his foul shots to head into halftime with nine points. Harper added six points coming off the bench.
The Scarlet Knights finished the half 31 percent (9-for-29) from the field while Michigan State shot 39 percent (12-for-31).
Richardson led Michigan State with 11 points while Carr had eight points and five rebounds
RHoops Play of the Day: Ace Bailey shows off his inner Kevin Durant and nails a jumper with two Spartans in his face to cut it to a 23-15 game with 7:45 remaining in the first half.
Up next: Rutgers will return to action on Wednesday when it faces Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on BTN.
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