LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) – Jase Richardson came off the bench with 13 points as Michigan State beat Colorado 72-56 in its first Maui Invitational appearance since 2019.
The Spartans (5-1) are playing in their sixth Maui Invitational, the fifth under coach Tom Izzo.
Colorado (4-1), playing its first game away from home in Boulder, got off to a strong start, taking a 16-13 lead on a 6-2 run capped by a Bangot Dak dunk with less than 14 minutes remaining. in the first half of the year. Julian Hammond III hit a jumper to get Colorado within two with 7:42 left, but Michigan State pulled away.
Jase Richardson hit a jumper with 6:06 left, Tre Holloman converted a three-point play and Xavier Booker followed his jumper with a pair of free throws a minute later to push the Spartans’ lead to 11 points. Trevor Baskin capped a 9-0 run with a jumper at 2:14, but Szymon Zapala answered with a dunk and two free throws to give the Spartans a 38-25 lead at the break.
Michigan State led by as many as 19 in the second half.
The only Spartan to score in double figures, Richardson shot 6 of 8 from the field to lead a 40-point effort by the Michigan State reserves. The Spartans shot 30 of 61 from the field but were just 2 of 21 from beyond the arc.
Hammond shot 3 of 7 from beyond the arc and led Colorado with 15 points and four assists. Elijah Malone added 14 points. The Buffaloes were just 20 of 54 from the field (37%), including 4 of 19 from deep.