AP Photo Michigan State's Cassius Winston (5) goes to the basket against Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis (4) during the second half Thursday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Joey Brunk made an immediate impact from the moment he arrived on Indiana’s campus.

Jerome Hunter needed to be more patient.

On Thursday night, the graduate transfer from Butler and the redshirt freshman teamed up for the Hoosiers’ final flurry. Brunk scored 14 points including a layup with 1 minute to go, Hunter grabbed a rebound with 0.2 seconds left and made two free throws to seal Indiana’s 67-63 victory over No. 11 Michigan State.

“He had 14 and six (rebounds) tonight and he earned them all,” coach Archie Miller said when asked about Brunk. “It’s not measurable what Joey has meant to us. He’s giving his absolute max on everything he does. He’s improved as much as any player I’ve been around from month to month.”

Without Brunk — or Hunter — the Hoosiers may not have salvaged this one.

The Hoosiers (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten) have won two straight, four of their last five and now trail conference co-leaders Michigan State and Illinois by just one game.

Cassius Winston, the league’s preseason player of the year, could have forced overtime when he drove through the lane in the waning seconds. But when Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis slid toward Winston, he flipped the ball to Xavier Tillman for a layup that rolled off the rim and into the hands of Hunter.

Winston scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half as the Spartans (14-5, 6-2) lost their third straight in the series.

“We just didn’t play good enough to win on the road,” coach Tom Izzo said. “I think he tried to get it up on the rim and I thought he had a wide open layup. He just missed it.”

The Hoosiers started fast and still led 37-30 at the half.

But Michigan State made its first six 3s of the second half and finally took the lead, 51-48, on Rocket Watts’ 3 with 11:06 remaining.

It stayed a one-possession game the rest of the way, but the momentum finally swung when Aljami Durham ‘s 3 with 1:52 to go broke a 60-60 tie. Brunk’s layup made it 65-62 and Hunter sealed Indiana’s biggest win of the season with his only points of the game.

“Jerome sort of took the anxiety out of the building with making two free throws — the most important two of the game,” said Miller, who picked up his 50th win at Indiana.

Trips to Indiana just haven’t been kind to the Spartans lately. On Jan. 12, they were routed at Purdue. This time, they got beat in the closing minutes. Clearly, Michigan State performed closer to expectations than it did at Purdue. But another slow start cost them another game. They will return to Indiana for the conference tournament in March.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that the Hoosiers struggled to make shots. But they’ve figured out how to limit the 3s and take advantage of their size and athleticism inside, and it has made a huge difference. If Indiana’s offense stays in sync this weekend, it just might crack the Top 25 for the first time.