Michigan State guard Cassius Winston scored 28 points as the Spartans beat Connecticut, 77-57, on Friday in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Miles Bridges made his return for Michigan State. But it was Cassius Winston who executed an offensive takeover and had the Veterans Memorial Coliseum crowd chanting his name.
The sophomore guard scored 18 points in a 8-plus-minute span, hitting 3-pointers and making off-balance driving layups and playing with extreme assuredness. He had 23 of his career-high 28 points after halftime to help the fifth-ranked Spartans pull away from Connecticut to a 77-57 victory on Friday night in the Phil Knight Invitational.
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Winston made 10 of 11 second-half shots, finishing 12 of 15 with five assists and three rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Ward had 11 points and nine boards for the Spartans.
Jalen Adams had 22 points and Terry Larrier 18 for UConn (4-1).
Bridges, who missed Thursday’s win over DePaul, checked into the game with 16:08 left in the first half. One second later, he picked up his first foul while going for an offensive rebound on a missed Gavin Schilling free throw.
The 6-foot-7 forward got called for his second foul and sat out the final 8:14 of the opening period. He had two points and three rebounds on 1 of 2 shooting before going to the bench.
Bridges finished with six points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans (4-1) advance to the championship game of the Victory Bracket of the PK80, where they will face No. 9 North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Moda Center. The Tar Heels (5-0) defeated Arkansas earlier Friday to move on to the title game.
Tom Izzo is 2-11 against North Carolina.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!
