EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Paul Davis delivered a message on and off the court for Michigan State.
His 30 points and 14 rebounds led the No. 12 Spartans past Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne 84-73 on Sunday.
After the game, Davis said Michigan State will need to play much tougher defense to reach its championship goals.
"It's matter of taking pride in guarding your man," Davis said. "We're giving up too much dribble penetration, took many kick outs and too many shots."
The sluggish Spartans (3-2) allowed 82.8 points per game in Hawaii, where they played the equivalent of 4½ games in five days. But that wasn't a good excuse for Sunday's performance.
"We haven't checked anybody yet," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "That's going to change -- or we're going to find a way to change it."
Maurice Ager added 20 points for Michigan State, but struggled early. The Spartans trailed in the opening 17 minutes as Ager went 0-for-6 from the floor. He finished 7-for-10 the rest of the way and his team built a 22-point lead.
"I think their guys were tired, period," IPFW coach Dane Fife said. "But they were 20 pounds heavier than us at every position and light years quicker."
The Mastodons (1-3) scored the first eight points before Davis took over and scored 14 points in the opening 16 minutes. Ager dominated the second half with 16 points in 16 minutes, when the Spartans shot 61.5 percent and scored 48 points.
"Paul is like any other Michigan State player," Fife said. "He has improved every year. And Michigan State is unique in that sense. Paul is thick, mobile and tough-minded."
Justin Hawkins led IPFW with 13 points, while Kyle Savely had 12 and Tyler Best 11. Quinton Carouthers and Brad Pompey had 10 points apiece for the Mastodons, who went 12-for-25 from 3-point range.
Shannon Brown added 12 points for the Spartans, while freshman reserve Goran Suton had nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.
The Spartans shot 52.5 percent overall and had a 41-24 advantage on the boards. But a closing 11-0 run by IPFW cut the final margin.
Suton's failure to hit the floor for a loose ball elicited a serious tongue-lashing from his coach.
"I learned that I must dive on the floor for those loose balls no matter what, even if my life is in question," Suton said. "After today, I will dive for every one of them."
The Mastodons hustled, sending two players crashing through chairs in an effort to maintain possession. That's the effort Izzo wants from his team.
"It's back to the drawing board on defense," Izzo said. "We have good enough athletes and good enough players to get it done. But they're going to be coached harder in the next three-and-a-half days."
Michigan State will host Georgia Tech Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
