Maurice Ager owns the Wildcats, but he learned Wednesday a second hand can help.
On a team that usually spreads the wealth, Ager and forward Alan Anderson scored 64 percent of the Spartans’ points as No. 14 Michigan State won 69-58 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Anderson scored a game-high 22 points, with 16 in the second half. The senior went 7 of 7 from the foul line, hitting six free throws in the final 1:15 to halt a Cats’ comeback.
Michigan State, which leads the nation in free throw percentage, made 15 of 21 from the line while Northwestern hit just 11 of 21.
The story, however, was Ager’s continued dominance of the Cats.
In six games against NU, the junior guard has shot 71 percent and has been nearly unstoppable from beyond the arc, hitting 19 of 23.
Sitting in the locker room after his latest performance — 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range — Ager struggled to explain why he’s a Cat killer.
“I’m not really sure, you know?” he said. “This is a good shooting gym.
“It just seems like I get more open looks or something. It’s hard to explain, really.”
Explanation or not, Ager and Anderson were instrumental in the Spartans’ victory.
“They’ve been through all the wars and all the battles, they know how to handle it,” Michigan State freshman guard Drew Neitzel said. “They know how to handle the highs and lows, so we look to them for guidance.”
Ager began Wednesday’s game with a pull-up jumper to give the Spartans a lead they never relinquished. Later, with 3:39 left in the game, he hit arguably the biggest shot of the night.
NU had cut an 18-point Michigan State lead to five, 60-55, after Kelvin Torbert goaltended a Vedran Vukusic layup attempt.
The Spartans nearly committed a 10-second violation in the backcourt, but then Neitzel found Ager spotting up behind the arc near the Michigan State bench. Ager drained the 3-pointer, his third of the game, to silence the NU faithful and give the Spartans a 63-55 lead.
The Cats never threatened again.
“He likes us, that guy,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “He just makes every shot — and he hit that big 3 there, that made a difference. But the whole game he was fantastic.
“That happens in sports, certain places you like to play in, be it baseball or basketball.”
In his last game at Welsh-Ryan in 2004, Ager scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and was a perfect 6 for 6 from 3-point range.
“Maurice played very well shooting the ball,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “He just didn’t take care of it very well (committing four turnovers). And Alan I thought was solid. He’s been our most steady player this entire … Big Ten season. I thought those two guys carried us.”
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
