Cassius Winston scored 26 points to lead No. 2 Michigan State to a 76-65 victory over No. 15 Bradley in Thursday’s first round of the East Region of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
Mar 21, 2019; Des Moines, IA, United States; Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) drives to the basket against Bradley Braves guard Nate Kennell (25) during the second half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Winston made all eight of his free throws and the Spartans (29-6) finished 25-of-26 at the stripe. Xavier Tillman had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Matt McQuaid added 10 points.
Elijah Childs scored 19 to lead Bradley (20-15), the tournament champions from the Missouri Valley Conference who were back in the NCAA tourney for the first time in 13 years. Darrell Brown added 17 points, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye scored 14 and the Braves made nine 3-pointers to keep the game close.
It didn’t take Michigan State long to realize it was in a for a fight as Bradley jumped to a quick 10-4 lead, nailing a pair of 3-pointers. The Spartans responded with a 9-0 run to take a 13-10 lead, but the momentum would be short lived for Michigan State.
The Spartans could never pull away, going just 2 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half. Meanwhile, Bradley buried 6 of 9 from long range, its final two giving the Braves a 35-34 lead at halftime after Michigan State failed to get a shot off on its final possession.
After Childs scored the first four points of the second half, Michigan State went on a 10-0 run to take a 44-39 lead with 16:49 to play and pushed that advantage to 50-43, capping a 16-4 surge when Nick Ward hit a pair of free throws.
But two straight turnovers led to five Bradley points in a matter of seconds, followed by an offensive foul on Ward with 11:34 to play.
Brown then buried a deep 3-pointer to give Bradley a 51-50 lead that went back and forth over the next few possessions, with Tillman putting Michigan State ahead 54-53 on a layup with 7:43 left in the game.
Winston scored four straight to put Michigan State up 58-55 with just more than four minutes to play. McQuaid then hit a 3-pointer from the wing followed by a jumper in the lane from Aaron Henry to give the Spartans a 63-55 lead with 2:41 to play.
Bradley ran out of gas from there as Michigan State converted 11 of its last 12 free throws.
—Field Level Media