EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Miles Bridges had six points and six rebounds in a 17-minute return from an ankle injury and Eron Harris scored 24 points, helping Michigan State beat Rutgers 93-65 Wednesday night.
The Spartans (11-5, 3-0 Big Ten) have won four straight.
The Scarlet Knights (11-5, 0-3) have lost four in a row.
Bridges was welcomed by cheers when he checked in at the 15:56 mark of the first half and made the crowd roar on his first possession, leaping to dunk off an alley-oop pass. Michigan State's leading scorer and rebounder made a one-handed dunk in the second half, providing another reminder of how explosive of a player he can be even though he is just a freshman. The 6-foot-7 forward played for the first time a loss Nov. 29 at Duke, missing seven games with a sprained ankle.
Rutgers started strong, scoring the first six points of the game, before being overmatched as it often has in Big Ten play.
Corey Sanders scored a season-high 22, Nigel Johnson had 15 points and C.J. Gettys added 10 for the Scarlet Knights.
Michigan State's Nick Ward had 15 points and Matt McQuaid scored 12.
BIG PICTURE
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have has not won a Big Ten road game in two-plus years in the conference and will likely have to pull off a stunner to change that this season. The Scarlet Knights have only one Big Ten victory, in last year's regular season finale, since upsetting No. 4 Wisconsin on Jan. 11, 2015.
Michigan State: The Spartans need Harris and fellow shooting guard McQuaid to shoot as they did against Rutgers. Bridges will create space on the floor, but it is up to Harris and McQuaid to take advantage of it by making open shots. Harris was 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and McQuaid was 2 of 3 beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
Rutgers plays Sunday at Iowa.
Michigan State Saturday at Penn State.
