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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- There was a little rust he couldn't
hide. It was almost vintage Mateen Cleaves.
Cleaves only scored eight points in his debut, but his energy
broke open a tight game and Michigan State (No 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) rolled to a 76-63 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.
|  | | Penn State's Brandon Watkins drives against Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves. |
"I can see I'm going to have to learn to run the floor again,"
said Morris Peterson, who scored some of his 12 points off nifty
passes from Cleaves. "You don't know what fast is until you play
with Mateen."
Cleaves, who sat out 10 weeks recovering from a stress fracture
in his right foot, was only expected to play about 15 minutes for
the Spartans (10-4) in the Big Ten opener for both teams. But with
Michigan State leading Penn State (8-4) by only two points, he
started the second half and wound up playing 21 minutes.
"He played a hair more than we wanted him to, but we went by
how he felt," coach Tom Izzo said. "He started the second half
for two reasons. One, to inject some energy into us defensively.
Also, we were a little concerned about the foot stiffening during
halftime, but the warmups allowed him to loosen up."
With Cleaves, the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, calling
the shots, shouting directions and making his trademark pin-point
passes, the Spartans opened the second half with a 21-9 run to
effectively put the game out of reach with 10:30 remaining.
"Mateen Cleaves is a great player, but they have some other
guys who can get it done," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said.
"Sometimes, too much emphasis is placed on Mateen. He's a great
player, but they had some guys who carried the load while he was
out.
"For a guy who hasn't played in so long, I thought he looked
pretty good."
A.J. Granger, who led the Spartans with 15 points, scored six
points during the burst, but it was Cleaves who made things happen,
making plays work and dishing off the ball. He led the team with
five assists.
Jarrett Stephens and Titus Ivory both scored 16 points for the
Nittany Lions, who were outrebounded 39-27.
Charlie Bell had 14 points for Michigan State.
Cleaves, who underwent surgery Oct. 25 to have a pin planted
permanently in his foot, entered 4:52 into the game after the first
of two free throws by Granger. The crowd at the Breslin Center,
unusually quiet because the students weren't back yet from the
holiday break, cheered as he trotted onto the court.
"That felt great," Cleaves said. "When they heard my name and
cheered, that kind of loosened me up. That was a great example of
what it is to play here."
The cheer became a roar moments later when Cleaves pulled up
just short of the free throw line and drained a jumper on his first
shot, giving the Spartans a 14-6 lead.
The lead grew to 20-9 on Andre Hutson's layup with 11:50 left.
But the Nittany Lions, getting three points from Ivory, went on a
10-4 run to cut it to 24-19 with 6:18 left in the half.
It was a game for the remainder of the half, and a layup by
Ivory sent the Spartans off clinging to a 33-31 halftime lead.
"They confused us just before the half with their switching,"
Bell said. "Mateen got us back in our rhythm. He's our leader on
and off the court. Everybody wants to do well for him."
This was the 19th straight conference win for the Spartans,
seeking their third straight conference title. The streak is the
longest in school history and ties Michigan's 19-game Big Ten
winning streak over the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Penn State Clubhouse
Michigan State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mateen Cleeves knocks down his first shot of the season.
avi: 510 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Gyasi Cline-Heard rejects Al Anagonye in the low post.
avi: 543 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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