Jaxon Kohler notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 15 points and eight assists as No. 9 Michigan State beat Toledo 92-69 Tuesday night in East Lansing, Michigan.
Sonny Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 29 points for Toledo (5-6) while finishing 10 of 15 from the floor.
The Spartans overcame 15 turnovers – 11 more than their opponents – while outscoring the Rockets 54-24. Michigan State’s Carson Cooper snagged nine boards and Jesse McCulloch had eight off the bench.
Starter Coen Carr and reserve Kur Teng scored 14 points each for the Spartans (10-1).
Kohler has six double-doubles this season.
Toledo outscored Michigan State 41-34 after halftime as Leroy Blyden Jr. (10 game points) and Sean Craig (eight) started to complement Wilson. However, the Spartans’ early advantage was too difficult to erase.
Kohler got Michigan State off to a scorching start, pouring in 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting — including 2-of-3 accuracy from deep — in the first 8:27 of the game.
Moments earlier, his triple on the fast break gave him 12 points while extending the Spartans’ advantage to 27-12 at 12:00.
Michigan State missed eight straight shots during one stretch late in the first half, but still used its size to keep the Rockets at bay. Attacking Toledo’s frontcourt alone, the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Kohler got his own rebound, then missed a tip-up attempt before Carr grabbed an offensive board and passed the ball to Fears at the top of the key.
Blyden fouled Fears on a 3-point attempt and Fears responded by making every free throw to extend the lead to 18 points, 39-21 at the 6:58 mark. Michigan State led by 30 in the first half and 33 in the game.
Fears beat the buzzer with a jumper to cap an 11-0 run and send the Spartans into halftime with a 58-28 advantage.
Wilson had 11 points in the first half for the Rockets, who shot 29.4 percent (10 of 34) in the first 20 minutes, compared to 53.8 percent (21 of 39) for the Spartans.
Austin Parks finished with nine rebounds for Toledo.
Michigan State had 26 assists on 34 field goals.
–Field level media
