Michigan State guard Jaden Akins, right, dribbles around Bryant forward Barry Evans in the second half of their first round NCAA men’s basketball tournament game early Saturday in Cleveland. (AP photo)

CLEVELAND — Coen Carr came off the bench and had a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds as second-seeded Michigan State rolled to a 87-62 victory over No. 15 seed Bryant on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jase Richardson added 15 points for coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans (28-6), who trailed for most of the first 15 minutes before taking control.

Michigan State, which has one of the deepest squads in the 68-team field, had five players score in double figures.

Michigan State was facing 10th-seeded New Mexico on Sunday night in the second round of the South Region. The Lobos advanced with a 75-66 victory over Marquette.

“Let’s be fair to them, they came out and punched us right in the mouth, hit some shots early, got some rebounds early, turned us over,” Izzo said. “And then Coen came in and really ignited us.”

Rafael Pinzon led Bryant (23-12) with 21 points and Earl Timberlake scored 14.

“I’m proud of the guys. They did not back down. Even when it started to spiral a little bit, some of those huddles they were pretty locked in,” coach Phil Martelli Jr. said.

The Bulldogs scored the game’s first five points and stuck with the Spartans for most of the first half. Keyshawn Mitchell’s 3-pointer put the Bulldogs up 24-21 before Michigan State responded with a 10-0 run. Carr had the first five points in the burst and scored 15 points in the first half.

“They had me playing the five a little bit more, so I had to run my lane, run to the rim, so that’s all I was trying to do,” Carr said. “I just felt like I get to make those plays and my teammates feed off them every time so I keep doing that and I feel like that’s kind of my job on this team.”

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Dominating the boards

Michigan State outrebounded Bryant 54-29 and also pulled down a season-high 21 offensive rebounds.

“We didn’t really make all the shots, so just for them to give us second-chance opportunities, just another chance to win the game and help us extend the lead. Coen obviously just giving us second-chance opportunities, and we capitalized off that,” Richardson said.

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