From Mirror, wire reports

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Frankie Fidler had a season-high 18 points and Jaden Akins scored 16, leading No. 12 Michigan State to a 90-85 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.

The Spartans (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) have won 10 straight for the first time since the 2018-19 season, the most recent of their eight teams to reach the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

The Nittany Lions (12-6, 2-5) have lost four in a row, including three straight to AP Top 25 teams.

“We didn’t put a body on him enough,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “He has a good feel offensively. You guys know that. You see that here.”

Penn State had one key player return from injury but lost another one.

Ace Baldwin Jr. had 20 points and played in all 40 minutes without sitting down during timeouts after missing a game with a back injury. Puff Johnson, who was coming off a 15-point performance, injured his right hand in the first half and didn’t return.

“Ace is a warrior for us,” Rhoades said. ” We are asking him to do a lot for us and I am proud of his effort and his approach.”

The Nittany Lions kept cutting into the lead in the second half, getting it to three and four points on several occasions, but each time the Spartans were there to answer the call.

“We got tougher in the second half, but no excuses, we weren’t good enough to win in the end,” Rhoades said. “They were more physical around the rim in the first half than us. They made plays down the stretch but I loved our guys effort. They have a great team, but we had some turnovers late in the game that really hurt us.”

Takeaways

Penn State: Playing three straight top-15 teams has tested the Nittany Lions, who were coming off an encouraging one-point defeat against then-No. 15 Oregon and a humbling 91-52 loss at then-No. 13 Illinois.

Michigan State: Izzo’s 30th team wasn’t ranked in the first five AP Top 25 polls this season, but has raised expectations. The Spartans have doubled their longest winning streak from last season when they had 19 victories and narrowly extended their NCAA Tournament streak to 24.

Key moment

After Penn State pulled within four, Akins converted a three-point play with 29.7 seconds left.

Key stat

The Spartans had 10 players with points in the first half to help them lead 46-36. Eight players finished with at least seven points.

Up next

Michigan State plays No. 19 Illinois on Sunday afternoon in one of the top games in college basketball this week. Penn State hosts Rutgers on Monday night.

PENN ST. (12-6): Hicks 4-7 2-2 14, Konan Niederhauser 5-8 3-3 13, Baldwin 4-8 11-12 20, Dilione 2-7 1-1 5, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Dunn 7-13 0-0 18, Kern 3-5 2-7 8, Nzeh 2-2 0-0 4, Goodman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 19-25 85.

MICHIGAN ST. (15-2): Kohler 3-9 0-0 7, Zapala 0-1 4-4 4, Akins 6-13 1-1 16, Fears 1-4 6-8 8, Holloman 3-9 3-4 10, Richardson 3-6 1-1 7, Cooper 2-3 0-0 4, Fidler 8-13 1-2 18, Carr 3-6 3-3 9, Booker 3-4 1-1 7. Totals 32-68 20-24 90.

Halftime–Michigan St. 46-36. 3-Point Goals–Penn St. 10-24 (Dunn 4-7, Hicks 4-7, Johnson 1-2, Baldwin 1-4, Dilione 0-4), Michigan St. 6-23 (Akins 3-8, Kohler 1-3, Fidler 1-4, Holloman 1-5, Booker 0-1, Richardson 0-2). Fouled Out–Konan Niederhauser. Rebounds–Penn St. 30 (Kern 7), Michigan St. 32 (Fidler 7). Assists–Penn St. 20 (Baldwin 9), Michigan St. 24 (Fears 7). Total Fouls–Penn St. 22, Michigan St. 21.