Freshman Jasiah Jervis scored 16 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 12 points and nine assists Thursday night to lead No. 6 Michigan State to a 91-61 victory over Toledo in East Lansing, Mich.
Four players scored in double figures for the Spartans (2-0) in their final tune-up before facing No. 2 Duke on Tuesday in Chicago in the Champions Classic. Jordan Scott chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds, and Coen Carr added 10 points.
Mynor Strong scored 11 points and Jaylan Ouwinga added 10 for the Rockets (0-2), who played without injured starting center Austin Parks.
Jervis, who on Monday became the first Michigan State freshman to start a season opener since Max Christie in 2021, made his second consecutive start and helped spark the offense with 13 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting — including 3-for-3 on 3-point attempts.
After Toledo scored the game’s first basket, Michigan State answered with 17 straight points to take a 17-2 lead in less than five minutes. The Spartans never looked back, building a 26-point advantage before taking a 48-25 lead into halftime.
The Spartans shot 56% from the field and played stifling defense, holding the Rockets to just eight field goals on 25% shooting in the first half.
Michigan State picked up where it left off after the break, scoring the first six points of the second half to extend its lead to 54-25. The Spartans continued to dominate the offensive glass, pushing their advantage to 60-28 on a putback by Kaleb Glenn with 14:52 remaining.
Toledo responded with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 62-35, but the Rockets were unable to make a significant dent in Michigan State’s lead.
The Spartans held the Rockets to 19-for-57 shooting (33.3%) and outrebounded Toledo 52-27.