EAST LANSING — In basketball, 10 out of 11 is usually pretty good. For the Wolverines, 10 out of 11 is a reminder of just how bad things have been.

Michigan State (5-1 Big Ten, 13-3 overall) beat Michigan 64-53 at the Breslin Center last night, their tenth victory out of the last 11 matchups between the two teams.

“We’re very disappointed,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “We didn’t come here just to show up, we came here to win.”

Michigan State guard Maurice Ager led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting.

Michigan (3-3, 12-8) brought a balanced scoring attack to the court, with four players scoring in double digits. Sophomores Dion Harris and Courtney Sims each had 12 points while freshman Ron Coleman and junior Chris Hunter each chipped in 10 points.

But past those four players, Michigan sorely lacked any sort of offensive output.

Despite remaining close into halftime, the Wolverines could not fend off the Spartans for long. Michigan State began the second half with an 8-0 run, giving it enough breathing room for the rest of the game.

“I thought that their ability to get some easy (baskets) quickly really put a dent in our gameplan to try and manage the game and keep it within striking distance,” Amaker said.

The Wolverines closed the gap to nine at one point, but spent most of the second half out of that proverbial striking distance.

“We look at it as a positive, considering how we ended the game,” Coleman said. “We didn’t just give up. We kept playing hard.”

Both teams began last night’s game with uncertainties prior to tipoff.

Hunter and Michigan State forward Paul Davis were both doubtful with ankle injuries while Michigan faced the prospect of a game on the road without guard Daniel Horton who was suspended indefinitely after being arraigned on domestic violence charges. Junior Dani Wohl started in his place, but posted zero points, two rebounds and two assists on the game.

Michigan opened up the game with a 7-0 run. Harris scored Michigan’s first four points and Coleman added a 3-pointer.

But the lead would not last long. Michigan State clawed back into the game on a 12-0 run the kept Michigan scoreless for over five minutes. The Spartans never trailed for the rest of the game. Michigan would not score again until after the second media timeout.

During that span, the Spartans’ physical style of play began to take its toll on the Wolverines. Junior forward Graham Brown picked up two quick fouls, putting Michigan’s frontline at an immediate disadvantage.

Hunter — available for the first time since an ankle injury forced him out of the game at Iowa on Jan. 5 — checked into the game and was effective in his return. He scored four points until he picked his second personal foul with 5:56 remaining in the second half.

Davis — who was also questionable prior to the game with an ankle injury — also scored four points in the half. He finished with 12 points.

When Hunter left, Michigan State was poised to runaway with the score, jumping out to as much as a 26-18. But in the last minute and a half, Michigan cut the lead down to four with four points from sophomore Courtney Sims.

Junior guard Maurice Ager closed out the half for Michigan State with a drive as the clock ran out, giving Michigan State a 28-22 lead at halftime.

Michigan will play its fourth road game in five contests on Sunday when they square off against Purdue in West Lafayette.

“We’ve got another tough game Sunday, so we just have to look forward to that one now,” Harris said.