Spartans push past plucky High Point in sluggish performance

Special to The Detroit News

East Lansing — Michigan State had its hands full Wednesday afternoon at Breslin Center with pesky High Point, an underdog by more than 20 points that played as if it didn’t know that.

Bryson Childress, a 5-foot-7, 139-pound sophomore guard, nailed 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 56-all with 8:56 to play in the game and finished with 12 points off the bench.

However, Tyson Walker hit a 3-pointer and then Gabe Brown (game-high 24 points) hit back-to-back treys to provide a seven-point edge down the stretch. The Spartans held on for an 81-68 victory that was close until the final minutes.

Joey Houser (17 points, 11 rebounds) was particularly big for MSU…