Count Michigan State’s Tom Izzo as another coach unhappy with the new hand-check rules.
After his No. 1 Spartans’ up-and-down, 87-76 victory over Oklahoma in the Coaches vs. Cancer championship at Barclays Center Saturday night, Izzo donned a Michigan State hat and congratulated the school’s football team on winning the Big Ten Legends Division regular-season title.
“It must be nice to be in a sport where you can have a little contact and a little fun,” Izzo said after the two teams combined to take 66 free throws. “I feel bad for the officials. It is frustrating, and that’s all I can say.”
Izzo said he wasn’t pleased with all the whistles, or his team’s play early on which led to an early double-digit deficit for the Spartans (6-0).
“We’re not a pretty-boy team,” he said. “I want to be a [blue]-collar team. We were that way the first 10 minutes.”
A 34-9 run led to a 14-point lead by halftime, and though Oklahoma (4-1) made several pushes during the second half, senior point guard Keith Appling, the tournament’s MVP, made sure the Spartans never lost their lead.
Appling scored a team-high 27 points, making several clutch baskets. His biggest hoop was a running left-handed layup off the glass while drawing the foul. With the free throw, that extended Michigan State’s lead to a 79-71 with 2:26 remaining.
“He took over under control,” Izzo said.
After struggling with his shot over the team’s first five games, sophomore Gary Harris found the range against Oklahoma, sinking three 3-pointers. He scored 14 first-half points, eight in the lopsided burst to end the half, and 21 altogether, helping to make up for senior forward Adreian Payne’s foul-plagued, four-point no-show.
Cameron Clark paced Oklahoma with 32 points and Mount Vernon product Isaiah Cousins added 15.
Seton Hall 68, Virginia Tech 67
Fuquan Edwin didn’t get much sleep Friday night. The Seton Hall senior kept replaying the final agonizing seconds of the Pirates’ one-point loss to Oklahoma, his decision to attack the basket with a seven-point lead and less than a minute remaining beginning a collapse.
“It was killing me the whole night,” the senior forward said.
He expected to rest better Saturday night, after his clutch 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining from the right elbow served as the go-ahead hoop a 68-67 Seton Hall (4-2) victory over Virginia Tech (3-3) in the Coaches vs. Cancer consolation game.
Edwin’s 3-pointer was set up by reserve guard Tommy Maayan, who was critical to the victory down the stretch, finishing off a pair of strong drives to the basket and running the team down the stretch.
His eight-point, five-assist performance — both season highs — came at a perfect time for the Pirates (4-2). With lead guard Sterling Gibbs struggling through a rare off night, Maayan ran the team down the stretch.
“The reason why Tommy played great was the fact he looked to go the basket and score,” Pirates coach KevinWillard said. “When he does that, he adds a different dimension to his game.”
Maayan, however, may not be with Seton Hall much longer. An Israeli citizen who returned to the team in August after spending three months in basic training with the Israel Defense Forces, he may have to report back for duty by the start of 2014.
“He still has to get on an airline,” Willard said. “We’ll see if I let him get on an airline.”