Balanced Michigan St beats No. 23 Rutgers

The Spartans (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) overcame an awful start, trailing by nine in the opening minutes, to lead 36-30 at halftime and by as much as 16 points in the second half.

The Scarlet Knights (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) pulled within two points twice, but gave up seven straight points to trail 50-41 midway through the second half, ending their comeback hopes.

Michigan State freshman reserve Jaxon Kohler had career highs with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Joey Hauser scored 13 points, Tyson Walker had 12 and Jaden Akins scored 11 for the Spartans, who have won eight of their last 10 games.

Rutgers’ Clifford Omoruyi had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Mulcahy scored 12 and Caleb McConnell added 11 points for the Scarlet Knights, who had won seven of their previous eight.

NO. 3 PURDUE 61, MINNESOTA 39: Braden Smith had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to help Purdue overwhelm host Minnesota. Zach Edey had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks for the Big Ten-leading Boilermakers. They improved to 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference. This was their fifth consecutive win after taking their lone loss of the season to now-No. 23 Rutgers on Jan. 2. Joshua Ola-Joseph led the Gophers with 13 points. They are 7-10 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten.

NO. 18 CHARLESTON 69, MONMOUTH 55: Reyne Smith made seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, Dalton Bolon added 15 points and Charleston won its 19th straight with a road victory over Monmouth. The Cougars (20-1, 8-0 Colonial Athletic Association), whose 20 wins are the most in Division I, extended the nation’s longest winning streak. Charleston is ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for the third consecutive week, jumping four spots this week for its highest ranking since being No. 16 in the 1998-99 season.