COLUMBUS, Ohio - Saint Louis made a strong second-half comeback, but a late 5-0 mini run helped lift top-seeded Michigan State to a 65-61 victory over the No. 9 Billikens Sunday afternoon in NCAA Championship third-round action at Nationwide Arena.
Kwamain Mitchell led the Billikens (26-8) with 13 points, while Brian Conklin scored 11 and Jordair Jett added 10 to go with a game-high three steals. Jett and Dwayne Evans tied for team-high honors with six rebounds apiece.
Michigan State's Draymond Green posted 16 points and game highs of 13 rebounds and six assists. Keith Appling tallied a game-high 19 points for the Spartans (29-7), while Brandon Wood and Derrick Nix tossed in 10 apiece. Adreian Payne grabbed seven rebounds.
The Billikens trailed 26-21 at halftime and faced an 11-point second-half deficit before rallying to trim the margin to two points twice.
Trailing 45-34, the Billikens embarked on a 15-6 flurry that brought them to within a field goal.
A Conklin dunk ignited the run, and Mitchell's trey from the top of the key made it 45-39. Three possessions later, Mitchell canned another trey to narrow the gap to 47-42.
Jett netted the Bills' next four points with a baseline floater and two free throws, cutting the MSU lead to 49-46. Conklin answered a Spartan basket with a short turnaround bank shot, and a Jett free throw made it 51-49.
After Appling hit a baseline jumper, Mitchell drove for a layup to make it a two-point lead again. But Green connected for a long 2-point bucket, and, following a Billiken miss, Appling rattled in a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Michigan State a 58-51 cushion.
Late 3-pointers by Cody Ellis and Mike McCall Jr. trimmed the SLU deficit to five and three points, respectively. But Austin Thornton made the back end of a two-shot foul in the waning seconds to secure the Michigan State victory.
After trailing 5-0 at the first media timeout, Saint Louis cut the Michigan State lead to 7-5 on Rob Loe's 3-pointer from the right wing. Wood's jumper made it 9-5 Spartans, but the Billikens put together a 10-2 run to take the lead.
Evans began the spurt with a free throw, and Jett's two from the line made it a one-point game. The Bills grabbed a 10-9 lead on Cory Remekun's layup following an offensive rebound.
Michigan State went back in front on a jumper by Payne, but SLU regained the advantage on Loe's turnaround jumper. Jett then nailed a trey from the left wing for a 15-11 Billiken lead.
The Bills went cold, though, and failed to score on seven straight possessions. Meanwhile, Michigan State reeled off 11 straight points to take a 22-15 lead.
The Spartans answered two Mitchell free throws and a Remekun dunk with a pair of buckets to maintain their seven-point margin. However, the Billikens forced three turnovers and a missed shot in MSU's last four possessions, and free throws by Mitchell and Conklin made it 26-21 at the break.
