Coen Carr finds another gear as Michigan State basketball crushes Florida Atlantic, 86-69

[ad_1]

EAST LANSING — Coen Carr’s dazzling above-the-rim play gets plenty of things going.

Michigan State basketball’s offense. The Breslin Center crowd. And his opponents’ glassy-eyed gazes on how he did it.

With Florida Atlantic giving the 19th-ranked Spartans the type of game Tom Izzo expected early Saturday afternoon, the sophomore swingman delivered a pair of highlight reel dunks to ignite a 23-9 first-half finish and send MSU into the Christmas break with an 86-69 victory.

Carr finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, with five of his buckets coming on slams. He also had a personal-best eight rebounds and delivered a monster block in the second half, following it with his first career 3-pointer as part of another balanced effort from the Spartans.

Michigan State’s Coen Carr, right, celebrates with Jase Richardson after Carr made a 3-pointer against Florida Atlantic during the second half on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in East Lansing.

AT THE POINT: A year after being shot, Jeremy Fears Jr. showing toughness for Michigan State basketball

Jeremy Fears Jr. also had a career high with 13 points to go with eight assists. Jaden Akins added 13 points, and Frankie Fidler scored 10 as MSU had a 48-36 rebounding advantage and held the Owls to 4-for-22 from 3-point range.

The Spartan (10-2) are off until they host Western Michigan (and former MSU player and assistant coach Dwayne Stevens) on Dec. 30.

Tre Carroll scored 24 points and Baba Miller had 12 points and seven rebounds for Florida Atlantic (7-6).

Coen Carr takes flight

Izzo expressed concern about the size and talent level of the Owls coming into Saturday’s matinee, calling them the best nonconference team the Spartans would play outside of their major opponents in Champions Classic and Maui Invitational.

For 12 minutes, his assessment proved spot on. Florida Atlantic countered every punch, answering MSU’s 8-0 run early with seven straight points following six in a row from the Spartans with a pair of buckets….

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/coen-carr-finds-another-gear-212904938.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-12-21 21:29:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.