(EAST LANSING) - No. 11 Michigan State pulled away and beat Rutgers thanks to two staples of Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo's program. Defense and rebounding. Cassius Winston had 23 points and seven assists, helping the Spartans top the Scarlet Knights 77-65 on Sunday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Michigan State (6-3) led by just two points midway through the second half before outscoring the Scarlet Knights 16-7 to take control of what was a closely contested game for much of the night. Gabe Brown scored a season high 14 points, starting in place of Rocket Watts, who is expected to be out for about a week with a leg injury. Michigan State's Xavier Tillman had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Aaron Henry added 12 points on 2 of 10 shooting from the field and 7 of 8 at the line. The Scarlet Knights (6-3) were competitive despite their leading scorers struggling to make shots. Ron Harper Jr. scored nine points on 4 of 12 shooting and Geo Baker hdd just four points on 1 of 7 shooting. Both players entered the game averaging 13 points as the team's only double-digit scorers. Rutgers reserves Akwaski Yeboah scored a season-high 17 points and Jacob Young had a season-high 12 points.