Arizona coach Sean Miller says he doesn't have to bother to ask his guys. They all know Kadeem Allen is the team leader.

Leaders lead. And that's what Allen did on Friday night.

In a game that featured tantalizing freshman talent, Allen, a fifth-year senior, went coast-to-coast for a game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds as the 10th-ranked Wildcats beat No. 12 Michigan State 65-63 at the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.

"We went to Kadeem. He's earned the right to have the ball in his hands. He made a great play, he really did," Miller said.

"The other thing is our other guys ran to where they were supposed to. Whether he makes the shot, or misses it, it was the type of shot you want to take at the end of the game."

Michigan State, which received 21 points from freshman wing Miles Bridges, tied the score at 63 as guard Tum Tum Nairn's 3-pointer bounced off the back and rim and fell in with seven seconds to go.

After a timeout, Allen took the inbounds pass from under the Arizona basket and drove the right side of the court, attacking the rim and putting in a running layup over 6-foot-6 forward Kenny Goins. Allen then broke up Michigan State's inbounds pass near midcourt to seal the victory.

Arizona freshman guard Kobi Simmons scored 18 points -- 15 in the first half -- to lead the Wildcats in the season opener for both teams at the Stan Sheriff Center. Freshman forward Lauri Markkanen had 13. Allen, dealing with an injury according to Miller, added 10.

Bridges, one of the nation's most touted freshmen, did not disappoint, often playing above the rim, including four spectacular dunks. He added seven rebounds, but was just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. His spinning layup through the lane gave the Spartans a 60-59 lead with 3:00 to go, but MSU missed its next four shots before Nairn's 3.

Michigan State freshman post Nick Ward came off the bench to score nine points. Guard Matt McQuaid also had nine points.

At times, Spartans coach Tom Izzo used his touted four-man freshman class on the court at the same time. Despite a size disadvantage, MSU battled Arizona to a 34-34 tie on the boards.

"It's disappointing any time you lose," Izzo said. "And I'm disappointed because we had chances to win. There is a lot to build on out there. Hopefully, we'll be better."

Arizona led 43-34 with 16:17 left in the game, but Michigan State responded with a 17-3 run, fueled by two dunks from Bridges and a trio of 3-pointers, the last for a 51-46 lead. The lead see-sawed from there.

Bridges scored seven points -- on a fast-break layup, a 3-pointer and a powerful reverse dunk -- before the first media timeout as Michigan State took a 9-0 lead.

The Spartans built their early advantage to 17-2, with Arizona hurting itself by committing four offensive fouls in that stretch, before Michigan State went cold and Simmons got hot.

"When you're down 17-2 in the opening game of the season, it's not a good," Miller said. "The resiliency, the leadership of our team, in being able to put that behind us and focus on the game ahead, is something I think we will be able to call on for a long time."

As the pace slowed in the first half, the Spartans missed nine consecutive shots during a scoring drought lasted 8:03. Simmons poured in 11 points in the span, including a 3-pointer for a 24-21 lead with 5:24 to go before halftime.

"When we made some subs in the first half, we just didn't play as well," Izzo said.

NOTES: Arizona was without sophomore G Allonzo Trier, the team's leading returning scorer (14.8 points per game, amid reports of eligibility concerns. Trier did not play in either of the team's exhibition games, and school officials have not comments on the nature of his absence. ... Each team wore special camouflage uniforms on Veterans Day; Arizona's featured the words "At 'em Arizona" on the back nameplate to honor the rallying cry of the USS Arizona, a battleship sunk 75 years ago in the attack on Pearl Harbor. ... Michigan State G Joshua Langford played after missing both exhibition games due to a hamstring injury. ... The Spartans were without post players Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling due to knee injuries.