STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Down at halftime, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo threatened to really leave his listless team behind -- as in an extra night on the road in Happy Valley. "I told them we were staying here New Years," Izzo said. "Everythings closed down here. It would have been a good place to keep them." Truth is, the Spartans were getting on their plane no matter the outcome, and it was only a matter of time before they got rolling against overmatched Penn State. Branden Dawson scored 20 points, Keith Appling had 14 and No. 5 Michigan State clamped down on defence in the second half to beat Penn State 79-63 on Tuesday night. Gary Harris added 13 points and Travis Trice had 12 for the Spartans (12-1, 1-0) in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Dawson keyed a second-half charge to help the Spartans rally from a halftime deficit and win their fifth straight game. "Our halftime wasnt a lot of fun," Izzo said. "What you always hope is that players respond." Did they ever. The Spartans were in total control in the second half, and hit 10 of 20 3-pointers overall to turn this one into a rout. They limited Penn State to 16 points on 5-of-20 shooting in the second half, a sure sign theres a still a huge gap between the programs. "Thats what their team has got to do now, its got to grow," Izzo said. Brandon Taylor had 18 points for the Nittany Lions (9-5, 0-1) and D.J. Newbill scored 17. Newbill had three 3s and 14 points in the first half to keep the upset bid alive. But a second-half shooting funk for the Nittany Lions cost them against the preseason conference favourite. Penn State failed to have an assist in the second half and made only 2 of 9 3-point attempts. "I think we let missing shots dictate our effort," coach Pat Chambers said. "Its unfortunate, because the team I envisioned played in the first half." The Spartans needed Harris to drive the offence and squash Penn States surprising seven-point halftime lead. Harris, the preseason Big Ten player of the year, scored five quick points to open the second half and put the Spartans ahead. But he went to the bench with his third foul only 3 1/2 minutes into the half, leaving the Spartans without their second-leading scorer for a spell. It didnt matter who was in the game for the Spartans, the Nittany Lions kept making 3s as if they were layups. Tim Frazier tied it at 52-all on Penn States eighth 3 (on 14 attempts) -- a stout number after the team missed nine of 11 attempts in the last game against Mount St. Marys. Appling, though, sparked Michigan States long-range game with consecutive 3s for a seven-point lead. Dawson got the job done inside, scoring eight straight points on three layups and two free throws, for a 68-55 lead, all but ending Penn States upset hopes. The Nittany Lions went cold from outside, and Michigan State used 3s and second-chance points off a whopping rebounding edge (45-26). "We all rallied together as a team," Dawson said. Izzo tied Indianas Branch McCracken for fifth place on the Big Ten career wins list with 210. Penn State had its best non-conference record in five seasons and played for 20 minutes like a team capable of kicking off conference play with a shocker. "We know were a good team," Newbill said. "Weve got to become a great team." The Nittany Lions sure were great in the first half, making their 36-per cent 3-point shooting number worthless, hitting one after another to race to a 12-point lead. Newbill made a 3, then followed with a four-point play on the next possession for a 17-9 lead. Taylor hit consecutive 3s for a 25-14 lead that had a small, yet wildly enthusiastic, crowd on their feet. Michigan State appeared to establish its dominance with a 12-0 run to take the lead until Penn State got hot again from 3-point range. Donovan Jack hit PSUs sixth 3 of the half for a 32-29 lead and Newbills third 3 of the half helped the Nittany Lions take a 47-40 lead. The Nittany Lions connected on seven of 12 3-pointers in the half. "They jumped on us," Trice said. "They had a game plan how they wanted to defend us and they executed." Both programs had bigger concerns than the Big Ten opener: No. 4 Michigan State was in Pasadena, Calif., prepping for No. 5 Stanford in the Rose Bowl and the Nittany Lions are in limbo as Bill OBrien decides if he wants to stay loyal to his team or bolt for the NFL. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . The five-time Olympian and Canadas captain was among six players head coach Dan Church left off his 21-player roster for the annual international womens tournament starting Tuesday in Lake Placid, N. Cheap NHL Jerseys . But on Monday, the back-up forward got his first start since coming to Toronto two months ago and made the most of it, pouring in a season-high 22 points as the Raptors defeated New Orleans 108-101. http://www.cheapjerseysstitched.us.... . The Ottawa Redblacks announced Wednesday they have signed the import linebacker to a contract. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysstitched.us.com/]Cheap Jerseys .500 both on the road and on the season; it was the Jets 22nd one-goal game this season (9-8-5).CHICAGO -- Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri scored in a four-round shootout, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 5-4 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win. Radim Vrbata had the lone shootout goal for Phoenix, 7-1-1 in its last nine games. Pirri tied the score 4-all 3 minutes into the third, and 4 seconds after a Chicago power play had elapsed. He connected on a midair deflection of Brent Seabrooks drive from the top of the circle. Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa also scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, who extended their point streak to eight games (7-0-1). Chicago fired a season-high 52 shots through overtime at Coyotes goalie Mike Smith. Phoenix defenceman Michael Stone scored two goals for the first time in his career as the Coyotes overcame an early two-goal deficit to earn a point. Shane Doan and Lauri Korpikoski also scored for Phoenix. At 13-4-3, the Coyotes are off to their best start since 1998-99 when they were 15-3-2 after 20 games. Smith made 48 saves and Chicagos Corey Crawford had 26 in a wide-open, back-and-forth game. The 52 shots allowed by the Coyotes through overtime also were a season high. Smith entered having faced an NHL-high 555 shots. Phoenix defenceman Zbynek Michalek left after five shifts in the first period with a lower-body injury. The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 6:22, but the Coyotes came back to tie it 2-all after the first period. Saad opened the scoring 2:37 in when he popped in a rebound with Smith down on the ice and a scrum in the crease. Sharp made it 2-0 at 6:22 with a power-play goal, on a rising shot fired from tthe top of the slot and through a screen.dddddddddddd The 23-year-old Stone cut it to 2-1 just 41 seconds later when his shot from the right point deflected off Pirris stick and past Crawford. Doans power-play goal, chipped in from the right side of the net with 5:56 left in the first, tied it at 2. Keith Yandles shot from the point missed the net, caromed off the back boards and straight to Doan. Hossa put Chicago back ahead 3-2 at 5:05 of the second when he drove to the net unchecked and scored on a rebound of his own shot from left wing. Then Korpikoski and Stone scored 2:11 apart late in the second to put Phoenix ahead for the first time, 4-3. From the edge of the crease, Korpikoski wrapped in a rebound of Radim Vrbatas shot with 5:05 left in the period to knot it at 3. Stones second goal, on a high drive from the top of the left circle, sailed past Crawford on the stick side and put the Coyotes in front. After Pirri scored to tie it at 4, the Blackhawks took control and outshot the Coyotes 17-6 in the third. Smith stopped Hossa from point-blank range with a minute left in regulation. Chicago dominated the overtime and outshot Phoenix 3-0 NOTES: The Blackhawks recalled 20-year-old forward Alex Broadhurst from Rockford of the AHL and placed C Michael Handzus on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 25. Handzus has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury. Broadhurst, from the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, Ill., didnt play Thursday. ... Chicago D Michal Rozsival was a scratch. He was hit in the face with a puck on Sunday. ... Phoenix assigned forward Chris Brown to Portland of the American Hockey League. He had appeared in just four games. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '