Jeremy Fears Jr. Jasiah Jervis jump all over Northern Iowa
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EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo wanted to see how Michigan State basketball would respond to success.
The Spartans did so in triplicate.
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Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jasiah Jervis led an outside shooting barrage for No. 5 MSU, which broke a school record with 18 3-pointers en route to a 104-72 victory over Northern Iowa on Friday, Nov. 13, at Breslin Center.
The previous single-game record was 17 3-pointers, set against Purdue on Feb. 20, 2014, and tied against Rutgers on Jan. 31, 2016.
Fears finished with 24 points and nine assists, while Jervis scored 20 points as the two combined for nine of the 3s for the Spartans (4-0). Jordan Scott had 11 first-half points and made three more 3s, while Jesse McCulloch and Kur Teng each hit a pair from deep.
Freshman Julius Avent drained the record-breaker with 50 seconds to play as MSU finished 18-for-37 (48.6%) from behind the arc. The Spartans also turned 16 UNI turnovers into 31 points.
Greyson Uelmen scored 16 points and three others added 11 apiece for the Panthers (2-2).
It was over when ...
MSU put the game away swiftly, with a 19-2 opening salvo that included five 3-pointers in six attempts. Fears and Scott had two apiece, and Jervis had another.
The Spartans built their lead to 20 on Jervis’ second 3 as part of a 7-for-9 start beyond the arc. By halftime, five different MSU players hit at least one 3-pointer. Scott had three 3s and 11 points with four boards at the break.
That sizzling 10-for-16 shot-making from deep led to a 59-44 halftime advantage, the most points the Spartans have scored in a first half since getting 64 in a 104-83 blowout of Green Bay on Dec. 18, 2018.
Then after UNI trimmed MSU’s cushion to 11 points less than 2 minutes into the second half, the Spartans’ 3-point shooting again put them over the edge with two from Jervis and one from Fears. McCulloch and Teng followed with two more to rebuild the lead to 71-56, and then the Spartans ripped off a 21-0 burst over a six-minute stretch to remove any doubt.
Player of the game: Jeremy Fears Jr.
Fears carried over his stellar showing from Tuesday night’s 79-73 victory over No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic by coming out firing early.
Fears had 19 points by halftime and was 5-for-5 from the field (and 3-for-3 from 3-point range) with four assists. After setting up Jervis for another 3 to open the second-half scoring, Fears followed his first miss from deep with his fourth 3-pointer to give MSU a 68-54 lead less than four minutes into the final period.
The reigning All-American finished 6-for-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep in 28 minutes. Fears had 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds Tuesday against the Blue Devils.
Trending up: Jasiah Jervis
Jervis continues to show few nerves as a freshman in the starting lineup. The 6-4, 200-pound shooting guard hit the early 3, then attacked on the boards for a putback bucket.
His smooth shot helped MSU build a 24-point lead in the first half, and he continued with three more after halftime. Then with 5:16 left, Jervis sprinted out in transition and powered his way through a foul with an off-step layup and three-point play.
Jervis finished 7-for-9 overall and 5-of-6 from 30point range with five rebounds and three assists in just 23 minutes.
Trending down: Foul trouble
Referees’ whistles are getting a workout at an alarming volume early in the season.
MSU and Northern Iowa were called for 33 fouls in a first half that took an hour to play with all the stoppages. The two teams combined to shoot 37 free throws. The Panthers had three players with three fouls at halftime, while 10 other players for UNI and the Spartans had two apiece.
It took 4 seconds into the second half for the first whistle after halftime, with the second coming at the 38-second mark. In total 61 fouls were called and two Panthers fouled out. And with 9:45 to play, refs issued a double-technical foul on MSU’s Ethan Taylor and UNI’s Uelmen, whose grandfather Bill Uelmen was a teammate of Izzo and Mike Garland at Northern Michigan.
MSU and Duke were called for 46 fouls between them Tuesday. The Spartans' game vs. Toledo had 49 fouls, and the MSU win over Quinnipiac had 40 calls.
Next up: Rocky Top
Barring any travel disruptions, the Spartans will hit the road for another top-10 test at No. 9 Tennessee on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN2) at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers (2-0) hosted Tennessee State on Friday night.
The Spartans lead the all-time series 5-2, with a 70-69 win over UT in the 2010 Elite Eight to get to Izzo's second straight Final Four and sixth of his eight appearances. The Vols beat MSU, 89-88, in an exhibition game at Breslin on Oct. 29, 2023.
Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jeremy Fears Jr. Jasiah Jervis jump all over Northern Iowa