Michigan
11-7,2-5Big Ten
Penn State
14-5,4-4Big Ten
Michigan Falls to Penn State at Crisler Center
1/22/2020 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» U-M fell, 72-63, to Penn State on Wednesday night (Jan. 22).
» Brandon Johns Jr. scored a career-high 14 points.
» Three Wolverines scored in double figures, and Jon Teske collected his fifth double-digit rebound game of the season.
» Michigan will return to action Saturday (Jan. 25) with a home tilt against Illinois at noon.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Penn State 72, Michigan 63
Records: U-M (11-7, 2-5 B1G), PSU (14-5, 4-4 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 25 -- vs. Illinois (Crisler Center), Noon (TV: FS1)
• Watch: Highlights vs. Penn State
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomore Brandon Johns Jr. scored a career-high 14 points as part of a trio of double-figure scorers, but the University of Michigan men's basketball team was unable to top visiting Penn State in a 72-63 setback on Wednesday night (Jan. 22) at Crisler Center.
Senior Zavier Simpson was the Michigan's leading scorer with 18 points on the evening, 12 of which came in the second half. Simpson also had a team-best six assists. Johns added 14 points and junior guard Eli Brooks chipped in 12 points.
Senior Jon Teske led all players with 11 rebounds, marking the fifth time this season that he has pulled down double-digit boards. Defensively, Teske, Austin Davis and Franz Wagner each tallied two steals.
Penn State started the game with four straight baskets to force a Michigan timeout just 2:09 into the first half with the Wolverines trailing, 9-2. After the timeout, Michigan went on a 17-6 run capped off by an Eli Brooks layup to take a 19-15 lead with 11:28 left on the first-half clock.
The Nittany Lions responded with a 22-9 run the rest of the half, and the Wolverines trailed, 37-28, at the half. Johns Jr. led U-M in scoring with nine points. Teske grabbed six boards, and Simpson and Brooks each dished out three assists.
The two sides traded buckets to open the second half, and Michigan cut the lead to nine points, 44-35, at the first media timeout with 15:47 remaining. While the Wolverines did not attempt a free throw in the first half, they took 11 shots from the charity stripe over the first 7:01 of the second half and continued to chip away, trailing, 49-42, with 11:51 on the clock.
Penn State found a second gear and pulled away as Curtis Jones scored 11 straight points to help the Nittany Lions extend their advantage to 57-45 with 10 minutes left in the contest.
The Wolverines made a late push with a 12-4Â run over a span of 3:16 to cut the Penn State lead to 62-57 with 3:50 to go. Penn State effectively ended the threat with an and-one layup and made free throw by Jones with 2:55 to go to extend the lead to 10 points and PSU hit three free throws over the last 35 seconds to earn the win.
Michigan will be back in action Saturday (Jan. 25) when they host Illinois at Crisler Center. Tipoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will be broadcast live on FS1.
