Bench powers No. 20 Michigan State to victory over FAU

Coen Carr came off the bench to score 17 points and pull down eight rebounds, leading No. 20 Michigan State to an 86-69 win over Florida Atlantic in East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday.

Jeremy Fears and Jaden Akins each added 13 points and Jaxon Kohler grabbed 12 rebounds for Michigan State (10-2), which has won eight of its past nine games.

Tre Carroll scored 24 points off the bench and Baba Miller added 12 points and seven rebounds in defeat for Florida Atlantic (7-6), which couldn't overcome a 4-of-22 shooting performance from 3-point range.

The Spartans had a 48-36 rebounding advantage.

Michigan State held a 42-29 lead at halftime, but a majority of the second half was evenly played. The Spartans built a 58-42 lead with 10:30 remaining in the game, but Florida Atlantic went on a 7-2 surge to cut its deficit to 60-49 with 8:53 left.

Michigan State then delivered the knockout blow, going up 77-59 with 4:41 left after a 3-pointer in the corner by Carr, which came after a highlight-reel block by Carr on the defensive end.

A putback dunk by Carr off a miss gave Michigan State an 81-61 lead with 3:14 remaining.

Florida Atlantic held a 20-19 lead with 8:12 to go in the first half, but Michigan State used an 8-0 run to take a 27-20 lead with 5:58 left until halftime.

Michigan State later went on an 11-2 run to take a 38-26 lead with 2:21 remaining in the first half.

Foul trouble was a big problem for Florida Atlantic in the first half. The Owls committed 15 fouls in the first half and saw three players -- Miller, Leland Walker and Kaleb Glenn -- go to the bench before intermission with three fouls each.

Walker ultimately fouled out with 6:04 left in the game.

--Field Level Media