UNIVERSITY PARK — Michigan State will begin its 7 p.m. contest against Penn State tonight without Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson because of a scuffle that broke out between the pair at around 11 a.m. today at the Nittany Lion Inn.

A team spokesman said the incident occurred between 11-11:15 a.m.

Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo released the following statement earlier today:

“A scuffle that began as two players needling each other resulted in a dented wall. We’ll deal with this appropriately, and the players will willingly accept responsibility for paying for any property damage. I’ve spent my entire afternoon meeting with the players involved and they are both sincerely remorseful. What makes matters even more confusing is that they are off-campus roommates. As a result of their actions neither one will start tonight’s game.”

Dawson, a 6-foot-6-sophomore started in the Spartans’ 66-56 win over Nebraska on Sunday, while Payne, a 6-foot-10 junior came off the bench. Dawson is third on the team in scoring and rebounding at 10.5 and 6.1 respectively. Payne averages 8.6 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 7.2 rebounds per night. It is unclear exactly how much time the pair will miss.