Sanders, Rutgers Can’t Stick Around With Forbes and Michigan State in Second Half

Bryan Forbes, No. 5 (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)

As time ticked away in its contest, the Rutgers men’s basketball team was facing a familiar situation.

The Scarlet Knights were down by more than 25 points to a superior Michigan State team, and were dealing with stopping history in the Big Ten.

Unfortunately for them, they were on the wrong side of the record book again.

The Spartans opened up a huge lead in the second half in part to its torrid shooting from the three-point line, and cruised to a 97-66 victory.

Michigan State guard Bryn Forbes, who leads the Big Ten in made three-pointers, and three-point field goal percentage, put on a show Tuesday night at the RAC. He set a new Big Ten record with 11 made three-pointers against the Knights, and his 33 points were the most by a Rutgers opponent at the Rutgers Athletic Center since 2009.

The Spartans broke a team record with 18 total three-point field goals made, with its previous record of 17 also coming against the Knights the first time they played this season on Jan. 31.

It was that kind of night for Rutgers.

Despite the blowout score by the end of the game, the Knights came out and played a competitive first half. At the end of the first 20 minutes, Rutgers was down by only two points with a score of 43-41.

They shot at a high rate from the field, making 16 of 24 field goals in the first half. The main reason for this offensive outburst was freshman guard Corey Sanders, who returned from a four-game suspension to face the Spartans.

Sanders, like he has all season, impacted the game with his athleticism and aggressiveness, and pushed the Knights to remain as competitive as possible in the contest.

However, the second half told a different story.

The Spartans came out red hot from the field, and the Knights offense faltered to keep up its efficient offensive output from the first half.

Michigan State went on a 20-3 run in only the first five minutes of the second half to put the game out of reach for the Knights.

Conversely, Rutgers shot 8-28 from the field in the second half, and were outscored 54-25.

Sanders finished with 19 points and six assists in the contest, while freshman forward Jonathan Laurent added 14 points.

For the Knights, the loss marks their 17^th straight on the season, and 33 straight conference games dating back to last year.

With only one game remaining on the schedule, Rutgers will attempt to avoid a winless conference season against Minnesota this Saturday.