EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State basketball won an exhibition game over Bowling Green, 75-66, at the Breslin Center on Thursday night.
BGSU made a push during the second half, tying the game up at one point, but the Spartans used a 17-4 run to pull away late.
Junior forward Coen Carr looked like a potential star player, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and five blocks.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler also had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. nearly had a double-double, too, finishing with 12 points and nine assists.
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., center moves the ball against Bowling Green during the first half on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Neither offense looked very rusty in the first half. After 20 minutes, the score was Michigan State 48, BGSU 39.
The Spartans and Falcons combined to go 11-for-23 from three-point range, which comes out to 47.8%. MSU went 6-for-14 (42.9%) in the first half from deep; guards Jeremy Fears Jr. and Trey Fort each hit two threes.
Bowling Green actually got out to the better start, leading by five a little more than midway through the opening half. The Falcons were able to hit their threes and hit some other tougher shots to get some early points, while Michigan State’s offense looked like it needed a few possessions to get settled.
The first points of the game for MSU seemed pretty fitting about what fans have seen and expect to see in the future: an alley-oop from Fears to Carr.
Michigan State’s Trey Fort makes a 3-pointer against Bowling Green during the first half on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Things got tight for Michigan State during the second half. Bowling Green actually tied things up for the first time with a little more than 10 minutes left to go.
The Spartans’ offense had screeched to a near halt, only scoring nine points across the first 10 minutes of the second half. Carr had a dunk right as the clock went from 10:00 to 9:59 to give MSU another lead, but the crowd suddenly felt uneasy about things.
Maybe it was a mixture of the Spartans treating it like a first exhibition and BGSU wanting to take down a top-25 opponent on the road, regardless if it truly counts or not, but MSU was truly struggling to pull away from its MAC foe. The story is not that much different from when the Falcons came to the Breslin Center last season and led by as much as eight during the second half.
Just like last year, too, the Spartans used a late run to pull away. After Bowling Green tied the game at 57, Michigan State immediately went on a 17-4 run. The 13-point lead it had with just under four minutes to go was the largest of the game.
MSU was able to cruise the rest of the way, ultimately winning, 75-66.
The next time the Spartans will be in action will be on the road against UConn on Tuesday, Oct. 28. That will be the second of two exhibition games this season.
Michigan State’s Coen Carr scores and is fouled by Bowling Green during the first half on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Coen Carr – 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks
Jaxon Kohler – 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jeremy Fears Jr. – 12 points, 9 assists, 2 steals
Michigan State’s coach Tom Izzo, right, talks with Jesse McCulloch during the first half in the game against Bowling Green on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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