Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists as No. 5 Michigan State stifled No. 2 Duke’s offense in a 79-73 victory Tuesday night at the Champions Classic in Chicago.
Cam Ward added 14 points off the bench and Jasiah Jervis posted 10 points for Michigan State (3-0) in the opener of the Champions Classic doubleheader.
John Blackwell had 17 points for Duke (2-1), which shot 33.3% (20-for-60) from the field. That included a 7-for-29 mark from 3-point range.
Duke didn’t have a double-figure scorer until Blackwell’s 3-pointer with less than seven minutes to play. Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points and reserves Sebastian Wilkins and Caleb Foster each had nine points.
Michigan State led by as many as 14 early in the second half.
Fears assisted on 10 of the Spartans’ first 16 field goals and had two baskets of his own at that point. Then Fears turned a steal into a three-point play as the gap grew to 50-36.
Duke cut the deficit to 73-68 on Foster’s two free throws with 2:03 left, but Jordan Scott answered with a layup and Fears made three of four free throws to give Michigan State a 78-68 lead.
Duke scored the next five points, with Blackwell’s 3 coming with 13 seconds remaining.
Scott was a factor in the lane for much of the game, collecting nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Duke’s shooting woes continued into the second half, as the Blue Devils made just eight of their first 32 field-goal attempts. Free throws helped keep them within striking distance. Ngongba didn’t have a field goal until less than 11 minutes remained and he finished 2-for-6 from the field and 7-for-13 at the foul line.
Michigan State led 24-14 in the first half and settled for a 34-25 halftime lead.
Michigan State avenged a home loss to Duke from last December.