EAST LANSING, Mich. — Up by as much as 19 points in the second half, Michigan State appeared on course for its usual senior night festivities on Thursday. But a Rutgers comeback made things tight at the end.

Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 21 points each to lead No. 8 Michigan State out of a trap against Rutgers in a 91-87 win. A 21-8 burst out of halftime put the Spartans in control, though 19 points in the final 1:11 by Rutgers brought the game within a shot in the final seconds.

With the win, Michigan State clinched a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and with it a triple-bye into Friday's quarterfinal games. On a five-game win streak, the Spartans have a chance to improve their resume further Sunday at No. 3 Michigan, which already clinched the Big Ten championship. Michigan State currently sits in second place, while 14-5 Illinois and Nebraska are currently tied for third place.

On the night Michigan State (25-5, 15-4 Big Ten) celebrated its seniors in the final home game of the year, it was the class a year younger than them that led the way. Carr scored 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including three straight dunks in the second half and 8-for-8 foul shooting including two makes with the pressure on at the end of the game. Point guard Fears scored 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting while dishing eight assists. Big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper combined for 28 points and 13 rebounds, aiding a 38-21 advantage on the glass.

Michigan State’s three four-year seniors — Kohler, Cooper and guard Nick Sanders — finish their Breslin Center careers with a 56-9 home record, 15-2 this season.

Tariq Francis led Rutgers (12-17, 5-13) with 25 points including a clutch four-point play that sparked a 19-8 advantage in the final 1:11. Despite fouling out with 1:55 to play, Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole scored 13 points for the Scarlet Knights, nine of those in the second half.

After trailing the majority of the first half, Michigan State found a hot start, scoring seven unanswered points to make an 11-0 run bridging the first and second halves. When Kohler hit a contested 3 1:40 into the frame, Rutgers called a timeout.

With 18:08 to play, Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole took his fourth foul and headed to the bench. He had given Michigan State the most trouble in the paint, and his loss was felt almost immediately.

When Rutgers finally scored off the hand of Lino Mark, Michigan State only ascended — literally. Back-to-back-to-back lobs to Coen Carr led to crowd-popping dunks, and Jordan Scott followed with one of his own to make it 46-35 with 15:33 to play. In a hurry, the game had blown wide open.

In the first 6:03 of the second half, Michigan State blitzed Rutgers 21-8, with all of those points coming from its starting five. From then on, the game was all but at hand. Even with a big lead, Michigan State didn’t let its foot off the gas. Shooting guard Kur Teng fed Cam Ward a lob for a hanging dunk, his own layup at 12:06 made a 15-point lead.

With 10:56 to play, Fears took his third — and quickly, his fourth — foul as he knocked down Mark on a drive. The fourth came as Fears showed his frustration on the call, pointing his finger up at the scoreboard and twirling it around like he was calling for a review. The crowd booed at the foul. Fears returned at 8:26, his Spartans still up 65-52. He made a quick impact, scoring a couple of quick buckets on the break to put Michigan State up by 17 points.

With 6:10 to play, Carr hit a 3 off a feed from Denham Wojcik to make it 74-55.

With Ogbole back in the game with about five minutes to go, he went on a personal 6-0 run that dragged Rutgers back within a dozen points, 75-63, with 3:37 to go. Not exactly what Michigan State wanted to see getting ready to sub in its seniors to kiss the Spartan logo at halfcourt, but the lead looked large enough for the festivities.

That is, until the game got tighter.

All five seniors subbed in with 1:19 to play, but things went south. Francis hit an and-one 3 in the corner, and after sixth year senior Trey Fort dribbled his way into a trap in the corner, his turnover led to a 3 for Rutgers guard Kaden Powers. That seven-point swing in all of eight seconds made it 83-75 Michigan State with 57.8 seconds to play. Powers hit another 3 to make it 85-78 15 seconds later.

After starters subbed in and Fears split free throws, Francis made it 86-80 with 27 seconds to go, and Powers followed suit seven seconds later with a off a bad inbound by Scott, making it a 14-3 run in less than a minute. Carr stepped to the line with 17.7 seconds to play and hit both shots to stay up 88-82, but Mark hit a running layup off hard contact with Cooper five seconds later.

With 3.8 seconds to play, Darren Buchanan Jr. hit a 3 in the corner to make it 89-87. But Fears hit his shots at the other end to keep the game in control

Michigan State clinched a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and with it a triple-bye into Friday's quarterfinal games. The Spartans have a chance to improve their resume further Sunday at No. 3 Michigan, which already clinched the Big Ten championship. Michigan State currently sits in second place, while 14-5 Illinois and Nebraska are tied for third place.

If Michigan State looked for an easier outing against Rutgers than January’s game in New Jersey that required a 12-point comeback and overtime to decide, Thursday’s 31-30 lead at halftime, and 13:12 spent on the wrong side of the scoreboard, let some worry creep in.

Carr provided the most consistent source of offense with good dribble penetration, albeit he scored six of his eight points at the foul line (on perfect shooting, a step in the right direction for him). His 4-0 run at the end of the half gave Michigan State the halftime lead, despite 10 turnovers and 1-for-5 3-point shooting creating problems.

After the Spartans gave up back-to-back 3s to Rutgers’ Francis and Mark, the Scarlet Knights led 8-4 3:15 into the game and 12-9 five minutes later.

In a flash, Michigan State took the lead as Kohler banged in a baseline drive, and Jeremy Fears Jr. threw up a lob for freshman Ward to take the lead back 13-12. Rutgers called timeout to settle back in, but Fears capped a 10-2 run with a 3 from up top.

Rutgers came roaring back in a tight game, as another Francis 3 took the lead 21-20 with 6:40 to go. But then there were those pesky turnovers. Out of a timeout, Scott made the eighth of the half when he stepped out of bounds in the corner with 5:13 remaining until halftime.

If turnovers were one issue, untimely fouls for Fears were another. With 3:25 to play, Fears took his second foul of the half coming up court against the press defense of Rutgers guard Jamichael Davis. Review backed up the call. The first came on minimal contact with a floater five minutes in. Both calls incensed MSU coach Tom Izzo.

Fears stayed in a couple possessions before Wojcik stepped to the scorer’s table to sub with 2:28 to go, Fears at the foul line. But he missed the second shot and had to stay in. That proved fateful. He made a nice pass to Ward inside for a layup that made it 28-27 with two minutes left. But Rutgers stayed up 30-27 as Fears called timeout with 1:20 to play and subbed out. Carr’s 4-0 burst made the halftime score.

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