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No. 9 Michigan St. Men's Basketball Downs Illinois, 91-66
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Illini's Brian Cook looks to pass to Frank Williams who hit a three pointer and three free throws.
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Jan. 30, 2000
By HARRY ATKINS
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Charlie Bell scored 20 points and Morris Peterson 18 as Michigan State gave coach Tom Izzo a 91-66 win over Illinois on his 45th birthday Sunday.
It was the 23rd straight home victory for the Spartans (15-5, 6-1 Big Ten), tying a school record set in the early 1930s and matched during the mid-1960s.
The Fighting Illini (11-7, 3-4) were without Marcus Griffin, sidelined since Jan. 21 with a knee injury.
Illinois went without a field goal for the first 10:42 of the second half. By that time, Michigan State had built a 36-point lead.
Cory Bradford scored 13 points for the Illini. Mateen Cleaves added 13 for Michigan State.
The Spartans took the lead early and never let up.
Bell, who scored 13 points in the first half, had seven points and Peterson hit three of his five 3-pointers as Michigan State broke to a 27-14 lead with 9:55 left in the half.
Illinois, with Frank Williams hitting a 3-pointer and three free throws, narrowed the gap to 32-26 with 5:34 left, but Michigan State held the Illini scoreless for the next 3:23.
Meanwhile, Cleaves drove the length of the court for a driving layup that triggered a 17-4 burst that sent the Spartans off with a 49-30 lead at halftime. Cleaves had six points during the spurt and Bell also got back into it with a 3-pointer and a three-point play during the run.
Bell scored 10 points to help the Spartans open the second half with an 18-1 run to lead 67-31 with 11:33 remaining.
Michigan State began clearing its bench with 4:32 left, following two free throws by David Thomas that gave the Spartans an 82-46 lead.
The Spartans outrebounded Illinois 41-16.
