Michigan State's Cleaves takes control when it matters most

By CRAIG KACKENMEISTER
Collegian Staff Writer

Looking at the statistics sheet from Tuesday's game between the Penn State men's basketball team and No. 8 Michigan State, it appears as if Spartan guard Mateen Cleaves had a mediocre game.

It was anything but mediocre.

With the Nittany Lions (10-10, 2-8 Big Ten) up 68-65 with 50 seconds left in the game, Spartan center Andre Hutson got an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Cleaves behind the 3-point arc.

As the ball left his hands and went through the hoop, Cleaves stuck one finger in the air as the loud crowd suddenly became quiet.

"Mateen Cleaves is an All-American and probably an NBA player," Lion coach Jerry Dunn said. "And when the chips are on the line, just as (Indiana guard A.J.) Guyton, the big-time guys step up."

Cleaves ended up mirroring the performance of Guyton, who sank a long-range 3-pointer with seconds left in double overtime Sunday to give the Hoosiers a 98-95 victory.

Michigan State got the ball in its go-to guy's hands with the score tied at 68 and 12 seconds remaining. Cleaves dribbled the ball around until the clock ran down to one second. He drove the middle of the lane and threw up a seemingly desperation shot that found the bottom of the net, once again sealing the fate of the Lions.

The junior guard's teammates immediately ran over and mobbed him while he pumped his fists in the air.

In the first half of the game, Penn State's defense did a good job of shutting down Cleaves. He finished the half with two points and two assists. Cleaves turned it around in the second half, scoring 12 points.

"Mateen did not have what I consider a great game," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "But he defended pretty well. He had the ball in his hands at the end, which is what we want, and he found a way to get it done."

Cleaves came into the game No. 19 in the Big Ten in scoring with an 11.7 points-per-game average. What seems to be his specialty this season is getting the ball in his teammates' hands.

Cleaves leads the conference and is ranked in the top 10 nationally with 161 assists. In the Spartans' last four games, he is averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 assists. In Michigan State's 73-59 win over Indiana Jan. 24, Cleaves scored 16 points and tied his career high for assists with 13. It was his third double-digit game in assists this season.

"He's tough to guard," Lion guard Joe Crispin said. "He is having a good year. He is so strong, he can do many things and set people up well."

Asked if there was anything else that his players could have done to better defend Cleaves, Dunn said jokingly, "Maybe break his legs. He's really a great player and we covered him as best as we could cover him."