Michigan
16-11 (6-8)
Illinois
17-9 (7-6)
Last-Second Shots Just Miss, U-M Loses at Illinois
2/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2011
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Site: Champaign, Ill. (Assembly Hall)
Score: Illinois 54, Michigan 52
Records: U-M (16-11, 6-8 Big Ten), Illinois (17-9, 7-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 19 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 3:30 p.m. CST (TV: Big Ten Network)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team nearly overcame a 10-point halftime deficit but fell 54-52 at Illinois on Wednesday night (Feb. 16) at Assembly Hall. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz (Reading, Mass./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]) and junior guard Stu Douglass (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) each had an opportunity to win the game for U-M in the final five seconds, but both attempts were missed and the Fighting Illini hung on for the victory, ending U-M's three-game win streak.
Redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) led the Maize and Blue with 12 points, sophomore guard Darius Morris (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward) added 11 points and seven assists, and freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) chipped in 10 points.
Illinois led 32-22 at the half, but a pair of buckets by Morgan and a basket from Morris helped Michigan trim the Illinois lead to six, 34-28, in the first three minutes of the second half.
The Illinois lead grew back to nine, until Smotrycz connected on a trifecta and sophomore guard Matt Vogrich (Lake Forest, Ill/Lake Forest) made a layup on the break as U-M pulled within four, 43-39. Michigan's run reached 10-2 on a backdoor layup by junior guard Zack Novak (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton), cutting the Illinois lead to just one, 45-44, with 8:22 left.
The Wolverines still trailed by one with three-and-a-half minutes to play until Mike Davis scored for the Illini to push the lead to three. Neither team scored in the next three minutes until a Morris layup with 15.8 seconds left cut the lead back to one, 53-52.
Illinois split a pair at the free throw line to give Michigan a chance to tie or win the game with the final possession. With five seconds left, Smotrycz took a three from the left side that was no good and the long rebound fell to Douglass, whose off-balance attempt just beat the buzzer but missed off the front iron.
The Wolverines shot just 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) from three-point range in the contest.
U-M jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the opening four minutes as the Maize and Blue started 5-of-5 from the field. Hardaway scored seven to help the Wolverines take the six-point lead to start the contest.
Illinois responded with 12-2 run to take a four-point lead, 19-15, just before the midway point of the first half.
Leading by a pair, the Fighting Illini scored nine straight to push their lead to 30-19 with 3:28 left before the half. Following a timeout, Douglass knocked down the first triple of the game for U-M to end the Illinois run.
The Fighting Illini made the only basket scored in the final two minutes of the opening stanza to take the 32-22 lead into the intermission.
Demetri McCamey led Illinois with 18 points, Mike Tisdale added 12 points, and Mike Davis had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Maize and Blue will return to action on Saturday (Feb. 19) when it travels to Iowa. The Wolverines and Hawkeyes are slated to tipoff at 3:30 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
