Branden Dawson hurt as No. 22 Michigan State beats EMU

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State freshman Javon Bess made his long-awaited debut just when the Spartans needed something tonight, and whether he had much to do with it or not, MSU responded with seven quick points to open up a 50-31 lead on Eastern Michigan.

The problem was the vacancy that gave Bess a chance to see the floor. Moments before he entered, MSU senior Branden Dawson went down hard on a dunk attempt, bracing the hit to his tailbone with his left wrist.

After squirming in agony on the floor for a few seconds, he retreated to the locker room. From that point, with 15:30 left in the game, until he returned to the bench with 8:28 left and a giant ice bag on the wrist, Breslin Center was nervous and quiet – and it had nothing to do with a game that ended 66-46 in the No. 22 Spartans' advantage.

Dawson is said to have a sprained wrist with "further tests to follow," continuing an injury story line that is beyond tired for the Spartans (8-3). On the night Bess returned from October surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot to give MSU a full lineup for the first time, a senior who missed 10 games last season – nine because of a broken hand – went down again.

And his spill was not unlike the December fall last season of senior point guard Keith Appling in a loss to North Carolina, making his right wrist an issue for the rest of the way and ultimately hampering MSU's Final Four hopes.

As for Wednesday night's game, it was not as interesting as billed after EMU (8-2) went to Ann Arbor and scored a 45-42 win over the Wolverines last week.

The Eagles brought the 2-3 zone defense everyone's been talking about, but they could barely muster a whimper on the other end of the floor. They shot a miserable 22.6% from the floor against stingy MSU defense.

Dawson became MSU's 46th player to reach 1,000 points before departing with four points and seven rebounds. Bryn Forbes (14 points) and Travis Trice (13) led MSU's scoring attack, with 11 points from Marvin Clark Jr. and 10 points and nine rebounds from Matt Costello.

Joe Rexrode writes for the Detroit Free Press.