Michigan
9-19 (5-11)
Northwestern
8-18 (1-14)
Hot-Shooting Wildcats Stun Wolverines in Crisler
2/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score: Northwestern 62, Michigan 60
Attendance: 7,927
Records: U-M (9-19, 5-11 Big Ten), Northwestern (8-18; 1-14 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 1 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 8 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team dropped a 62-60 decision to the Northwestern Wildcats Tuesday night (Feb. 26) in Crisler Arena. Trailing the entire night, the Wolverines battled back to within one point, 59-58, with 1:52 remaining in the contest. A pair of free throws by freshman Manny Harris(Detroit, Mich./Redford HS) gave Michigan its only lead of the game, 60-59, with just more than a minute to play, but a three-pointer by hot-shooting NU guard Craig Moore captured the decisive 62-60 lead for NU. A three-point attempt by sophomore/freshman Anthony Wright (Sterling, Va./Oak Hill Academy) fell short in the game's final seconds. The victory is Northwestern's first Big Ten win of the season.
Harris finished the game with a team-high 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line. He also added eight rebounds and four assists. Wright tallied 13 points on five-of-eight shooting. Sophomore Ekpe Udoh(Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe HS) scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Northwestern's Moore ended the night with a school-high eight three-pointers on 12 attempts.
The Wildcats got off to a blistering start with the help of Moore, who poured in 12 of Northwestern's first 14 points en route to an early 16-2 NU advantage. Trailing by double-digits, Michigan battled back with a series of free throws and a pair of baskets by Wright to cut the NU lead to 16-12 at 12:55. Wright finished the first half with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. The Wolverines were never able establish themselves offensively during the remainder of the half as the Wildcats opened up a 19-point lead (36-17) following a 20-5 NU run. Michigan tried to swing the momentum to its favor late in the half, tallying an 8-0 spurt, but U-M entered halftime trailing 36-25.
The Wolverines transferred the momentum gained in the waning minutes of the first half into the second half, cutting the deficit to 41-39 at 11:34. Senior/junior C.J. Lee(Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford HS) highlighted the early the moments of the half with a three-pointer from the wing. Lee went on to connect on another triple at 8:52 to trim the NU lead to 47-44. He finished with a career-high eight points on three-of-four shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Baskets by Wright and Lee eventually knotted the game at 50-50, but six quick points by Northwestern put the Wildcats back into the driver's seat until the games exciting finish.
The Wolverines will get an extra day off after playing three games in a six-day span. The Maize and Blue will travel to State College, Pa., Saturday (March 1) for its final Big Ten road game at Penn State. It will mark the second meeting of the season after the Wolverines won 68-63 in Ann Arbor (Feb. 9). The second meeting is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tipoff with the game televised on the Big Ten Network.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
