Late Michigan basketball rally, fueled by Tre Donaldson, stuns PSU

Michigan needed a good showing after a bad loss at Purdue Friday, but the Wolverines got bad news before a Monday night game with Penn State with center Vladislav Goldin questionable due to illness. The big man toughed it out despite not being at his best, but the others wilted before point guard Tre Donaldson rallied them in the last two minutes for a 76-72 win.

The Wolverines checked all the boxes in the early going, making their first triple (a long, Danny Wolf bomb from the left side), working the offensive glass for a putback, and protecting the ball (no turnovers) in the first four minutes. They took a 5-0 lead, and there was hope they might have found their stride.

But PSU stormed back in what would become a game of runs. The Wolverines ripped off five straight after the Nittany Lions tied it at 5-5, then 7-7, a left side triple from Will Tschetter fueling the run. Two bad turnovers for easy transition buckets cut it to one — once again the Wolverines responded with 5 straight points, including a Donaldson triple, and on it went. 

The three-ball would continue to prove valuable. Veteran wing Nimari Burnett and freshman Justin Pippen both hit from long range to keep the Wolverines just a step ahead of a Penn State team that made seven of its first 14 shots, getting to the rim early and often. 

The Wolverines went zone defense at 6:40, but the Nittany Lions got a good look from Zach Hicks from 8 feet to tie it at 25. PSU finally took the lead on a triple from D’Marco Dunn. U-M meanwhile, started struggling to get good looks, often settling for long threes. 

Guard Rubin Jones finally got it working after a stagnant offensive stretch. His triple, his first in three tries, put the Wolverines back on top, 31-28, but it was short lived. The half ended 35-35 with the Nittany Lions staying in it thanks to a big advantage on the glass (10 second chance points) despite 10 turnovers. 

PSU shot 10 free throws to U-M’s 3, all by Wolf. He and Roddy Gayle Jr. led Michigan with six points each at the break. The Wolverines led for 14:16 in the first half, but the Nittany Lions answered every run with one of their own. They also outrebounded the Wolverines 20-9. 

SECOND HALF — Michigan blows 8-point lead, rallies late to win

Penn State took its biggest lead of the game to that point — three — early on a triple after a defensive communication, and Wolf missed a pair of free throws, both trends that have been concerning over the last few weeks. Donaldson, though, started to heat up, and the Wolverines got the lead back, 42-40, on his 5 straight points. 

Michigan finally got some separation at 15:40 on a Wolf triple that made it 47-40, but a Gayle turnover in transition led to two the other way. Gayle then missed a layup with Michigan up 5, allowing it to stay close. 

The Wolverines finally got it to 8 when Burnett hit a long triple at 13:35, but the Nittany Lions answered with a long three of their own. It remained tight, 52-47, with 12:55 remaining. The Wolverines got four shots at triples on one possession, and Jones finally cashed in to push the lead back to 8 … and that’s where it was, 57-49, at the under 12 timeout. They built their lead with Goldin on the bench for all but four minutes of the half to that point. 

But turnovers and missed bunnies continued to haunt them, along with sketchy defense. PSU cut it back to three, 57-54, after a bad Jones turnover led to a triple with 10 minutes remaining. The Wolverines only had one second half giveaway at that point, though, to PSU’s six, a big reason they held a 5-point lead with 7:38 remaining. Sam Walters then hit a huge three to get out of a slump and make it 64-57 with 7 minutes remaining. 

Nothing is easy with this group lately, though, and it wasn’t again Monday. The Nittany Lions cut it to 65-64 at 4:53 on a Dunn three-pointer, and it seemed destined for a tight finish. Sure enough, PSU took the lead, 67-65, after a Jones turnover led to another transition three before Donaldson tied it inside. Another three, this one from Ace Baldwin, made it 70-67 at 3:05. At that point, the Nittany Lions had made 10 of their last 15 field goals, including three triples in a row and 5 overall.

Gayle had a chance to cut it to one, but he opted for a thunder dunk attempt instead of a lay-in and missed. PSU followed with two free throws to go up five, and Michigan was in serious trouble. Gayle scored on a backdoor dunk and U-M got a stop, but Burnett missed an open three after a stop that would have tied it. Still, Donaldson cut it to two with 56 seconds remaining, and his three-pointer with 24 seconds left stunned PSU after Wolf blocked a shot on the other end.

Another stop with seven seconds left and two Donaldson free throws provided the final margin and gave Michigan a huge home win, keeping the Wolverines perfect at home.

Donaldson finished with 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals, Wolf 11, and Burnett 10 for the Wolverines, who improved to 7-2 in Big Ten play.