UConn downs MSU in exhibition as Jeremy Fears Jr. plays through pain

EAST LANSING — Michigan State’s exhibition against UConn won’t count in any record book, and it won’t help the Spartans‘ resume come Selection Sunday. But it’s hard to say it didn’t mean anything. Not to Jeremy Fears Jr.

Six months and 22 days to the date that UConn ended its season in the Sweet 16, No. 6 Michigan State lost 78-70 to the fifth-ranked Huskies in an exhibition Oct. 20 at Breslin Center. And though he faced an injury scare early in the second half, Fears stayed in the game trying to mount a second-half comeback.

The crowd held its breath 2 minutes, 3 seconds into the second half. On a routine layup, Fears tripped over UConn’s Colben Landrew then slapped the baseline in pain, grabbing at his left ankle. He shifted to a sitting position, tied his shoe and hopped up, limping his way to the bench. By the next media timeout at 15:44, he flashed a thumbs-up and subbed back in.

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Evidently in pain, Fears played without brakes as he battled for the ball, crouched low in his stance on defense and bullied Silas Demary Jr. off the ball on an early offensive rebound that fed freshman Jasiah Jervis for a 3.

Fears finished with 23 points and eight assists to lead the Spartans, while shooting guard Jervis added 11 points and four players finished with at least five. UConn’s frontcourt of Landrew and Nik Khamenia combined for 32 points and 10 rebounds while Demary added 15 and four assists.

Michigan State got UConn’s lead down to 41-38 at 14:03, but a 7-1 run for UConn including five straight from Demary made for a 48-39 lead two minutes later. The Spartans found a spark as Jervis drew a foul on a 3-pointer and hit the shots. Moments after Fears got called for a ticky-tack foul, he plucked the ball off of Demary and fed Coen Carr the other way for a layup to make it 48-44. 

UConn coach Dan Hurley — who Tom Izzo stopped the crowd from chanting expletives toward during the first half — called timeout to recollect. Before he headed to his own huddle, Fears pumped his fists and waved his hands to egg on the crowd to more positively directed cheers.

A comeback, though, would not be completed. A 50-46 game with 10:43 to play turned into 66-51 at 5:51 thanks to a 16-5 stretch favoring UConn. A pair of 3s from UConn guard Nils Machowski built separation, and so did continued strong offensive rebounding (14 by the game’s end) from UConn. 

Michigan State drew as close as seven points in the final two minutes of the game as Fears scored 13 of his team’s 19 points in the final 5:38 while dishing two assists to Jesse McCulloch.

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It had been an up-and-down first half for Fears, and with him the Spartans. He had a tomahawk dunk in the first half when he flashed the hops that have slowly crept back since his freshman year, when he missed the rest of the season after getting shot in the leg over Christmas break. However, that dunk proved his only make in a 1-for-6 first half. He had two assists and four turnovers by halftime, a couple of them on miscues with new center Anton Bonke, who looked like a guy figuring some things out after transferring in from mid-major Charlotte. Bonke didn’t play in the second half.

Michigan State trailed 30-22 at halftime, the difference being 4-for-12 3-point shooting for UConn compared to MSU’s 1-for-8. The Spartans only led for 1:11 after buckets from Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jesse McCulloch midway through the half. 

Coming off last season’s NCAA Tournament runner-up finish to Michigan, UConn didn’t play guard Braylon Mullins, out with an undisclosed injury, and guard Solo Ball, who is out for the season after left wrist surgery.

The Spartans play one more exhibition at Marquette Sunday, Oct. 25.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: UConn downs MSU in exhibition as Jeremy Fears Jr. plays through pain