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Sports Seriously
ATLANTA — Coen Carr sent a shockwave through State Farm Arena in the closing stages of Michigan State’s Sweet 16 win over Ole Miss.
Jeremy Fears hit Carr with a perfect pass after a steal, and Carr threw down a thunderous dunk to give Michigan State a 59-58 lead with 4:31 remaining.
The slam encapsulated the level of energy the Stockbridge, Georgia, native has embraced this year for the Spartans, who are headed to the Elite 8 after a 73-70 victory over the Rebels.
Throw in another opportunity to play in front of his closest friends and family — some of which hadn’t seen him play in “forever,” Carr said — and it’s no wonder the sophomore forward had one of his best performances of the season.
His 15 points were second on the team behind Jase Richardson’s 20.
“I was definitely amped up (pregame),” Carr said following the game. “Honestly, I think it made me play a little worse, especially the first part of that game.”
Sporting a graphic T-shirt of her son, Cynthia Carr said she was “very excited” to see the Spartans play in the South Region, knowing it could mean another chance to make the 22-mile trip from home to see Coen play in person.
She didn’t mind doing a little extra work to find tickets for 20 people when the Spartans punched their ticket to the second weekend — even if it came with a little extra stress.
“It’s a headache, but we did it,” she said.
Carr made sure everyone got their money’s worth from this weekend’s trip. In a short sequence just 3 minutes into the game, he flew from near the free-throw line to grab a defensive rebound after failing to corral a loose ball, then took it all the way to the basket for his first points of the night.
Gunter Schroeder is a student in the University of Georgia’s Sports Media Certificate program.