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No. 3 Michigan State 99 tops Boston College

By The Sports Xchange

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo posted the 500th win of his career on Thursday when the third-ranked Spartans overwhelmed Boston College 99-68 in a quarterfinal matchup at the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif.

In improving to 5-0, Michigan State got the second triple-double from guard Denzel Valentine this season. Valentine put up 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes, helping the Spartans connect on 62.7 percent of their shots from the field.

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Point guard Lourawls Nairn added 13 points and eight assists, and reserve forward Deyonta Davis scored 10 points, hitting all five of his shots from the floor.

Guard Eli Carter scored 22 points to pace Boston College (3-1) and reserve guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins added 11.

BC shot a respectable 47.3 percent from the field but couldn't stop Michigan State from scoring and was clubbed 38-20 in rebounding.

The Eagles stayed close for about 12 minutes, trailing 23-20 after Carter sank a jumper with 8:05 left in the first half. But Valentine sandwiched a jumper with two 3-pointers during a 10-0 spurt that made it 33-20.

Michigan State led by at least 10 points for the last 23-plus minutes, expanding the margin to as much as 34 points in the final minute. It will play UC Irvine in a semifinal on Friday night.

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