The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SENIOR guard Lourawls 'Tum Tum' Nairn and the No.2 ranked Michigan State Spartans got the better of their match-up against fellow Bahamian freshman forward Philip McKenzie and the Houston Baptist Huskies on Monday night.

Meanwhile, DeAndre Ayton and the No.18 University of Arizona Wildcats routed the North Dakota State Bison at home in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Nairn, in 23 minutes, didn't score, but he had five assists in the Spartans' 107-62 rout over at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

McKenzie, in 19 minutes, had three points with six rebounds and an assist in a losing effort.

The Spartans, now 11-1, opened a 54-33 lead at the half and used a 53-29 spurt in the second half to dismantle the Huskies, who dropped to 4-8.

"I was never prouder of a team than I was of their team. They were over-matched, undersized. For a team like that to get 24 offensive rebounds and just absolutely embarrass us, you know it was a shame," said Michigan's coach Tom Izzo.

"And so I'm not very happy, not very pleased. Please to take that insulting to Houston Baptist because they didn't have their whole team, in fact, I would take it just the opposite...as far as heart and courage and toughness, they played with it and we didn't. And that's what I told their coach after."

HBU's head coach Ron Cottrell said despite the fact that they played against one of the best teams in the country, he was pleased with their effort.

"I thought, when you look at the size of the players on Michigan State's team, their length, their athleticism, their skill level, you put all of those combinations together and it was a tough matchup for us tonight," he said.

"But I was really pleased with the fact that our guys never backed down. They didn't stop competing. I don't know how many of you know, but we're playing without our starting post player, an all-conference player, our leading scorer, leading rebounder. And so we were even more overmatched than we would like."

Nairn, the son of Lourawls Nairn Sr and Monalisa McKinney Sr, moved to the United States from the Bahamas at the age of 13.

He enrolled at Sunrise Christian Academy where he had a stellar career that secured him a scholarship to Michigan State.

The 5-foot, 10-inch guard, studying communication, is averaging 20.4 minutes per game and shooting .376 percentage from the field, .286 from the three-point line and .515 from the free throw line going into the 2017/18 season.

He also has grabbed a total of 180 rebounds for a 1.8 average, dished out 313 assists, blocked six shots and had 34 steals. He has scored 286 points for a 2.8 average.

McKenzie, a 6-4 forward, is averaging 3.0 points with a total of 36 points scored in 12 games. He's shot 16-for-36 from the field for a .444 average and 4-for-11 from the free throw line for a .364 average.

He has also pulled down a total of 37 rebounds, 16 on the offensive end and 21 on the defensive end for an average of 3.1 per game. He has also dished out six assists and committed five turnovers.

McKenzie, the son of Philip and Thelma McKenzie, is majoring in legal studies. He was a three-year starter at Cannon School in Concord, N.C. for Coach Che Roth before he enrolled at Houston.

As a senior, McKenzie averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game and he also ran track & field, setting school records in both the 300m hurdles and the long jump.

McKenzie and the Huskies will be back in action tonight when they hit the road to take on Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. They will play their final two games for the year on Thursday, December 28 at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas before they host New Orleans on Saturday, December 30.

Ayton, the 7-1 forward, scored a game high 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds in 26 minutes in their win as they improved to 9-3. They led 38-22 at the half as Ayton had 13 points.

Arizona will be back in action on Thursday in another home game against Connecticut and then they will play their final game for the year on Saturday, December 30 when they host Arizona State.

Ayton, the son of Alvin and Andrea Ayton, attended Balboa City School in San Diego, California, before he transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, Arizona where he played on both the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic teams.