Michigan basketball falls to Kentucky in London, 73-69, loses Jaelin Llewellyn to knee injury

Michigan Wolverines basketball trailed by one point at the half, but Kentucky executed better down the stretch and controlled the second stanza. The Wildcats got out of London’s O2 Arena with a 73-69 win over the Maize and Blue. Michigan is now 5-3 on the season, while the 19th-ranked Wildcats improved to 6-2.

Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.

First half

Michigan punched back after falling behind 6-3, with sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin leading the charge. He scored seven-straight points for the Wolverines are one point — a three-pointer and two layups — before freshman guard Jett Howard cashed three free throws after getting fouled shooting behind the long line.

Howard did pick up two fouls within the first eight minutes, though, and took a seat on the bench. Redshirt freshman forward Will Tschetter came in for a stretch, some of his first significant minutes of the season.

The Maize and Blue led 17-15 at the under-12 media timeout.

A triple from Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler followed by two made Wildcat free throws tied it up at 17-17 with 11 minutes left in the half.

Michigan junior center Hunter Dickinson finished a layup off a pick-and-roll pass from graduate point guard Jaelin Llewellyn to break the tie.

The two teams played even for the next several minutes, before Kentucky began to heat up. The Wildcats hit 5 of their last 9 shots from the field, including a trio of three-pointers, and three free throws at the end of the half gave Kentucky a 1-point edge at the break, 37-36.

Bufkin led Michigan with 9 points and 3 assists in the first half. Dickinson added 8 on 9 shots with 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Michigan nailed 5 of its 10 triple tries, while Kentucky made 5 of its 8 attempts from deep.

All-American forward Oscar Tshiebwe paced the Wildcats with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Second half

Kentucky came out of the halftime locker room on fire. Wildcat guard Cason Wallace hit a two-point jumper, then a pair of threes to put Kentucky up eight points, 45-37 at the 17:53 mark.

Dickinson scored five-consecutive points, including a made three-pointer, before Kentucky counterpunched with a 4-0 run. Michigan head coach Juwan Howard called a timeout at that point, down seven points, 49-42, at the 15:19 mark. Kentucky had made 4 of its last 5 field goals at that point.

Michigan took advantage of Tshiebwe committing his third foul with 14:24 to go. Michigan went on an 8-0 run from there and got within 1 point, 50-49 with 12:42 remaining.

Llewellyn went down with a knee injury and was taken to the locker room with 8:40 left. He was later spotted on the bench with an ice pack on his injured left knee, but there wasn’t an update on his status during the game.

Both teams went back and forth. Kentucky got out to a six-point lead during the ensuing stretch, but a three-pointer from Michigan freshman point guard Dug McDaniel made it 60-58 Kentucky with under eight minutes to play.

Michigan went on a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought before Howard called timeout with 4:10 to go. Wheeler was on a tear for the Wildcats, scoring six straight points to make it 66-58, Kentucky lead.

Jett Howard had a put-back layup, and McDaniel made a nice floater to make it a four-point game with three minutes left. A Dickinson layup at 1:40 brought the Wolverines within two, 68-66. But Kentucky guard Cason Wallace drained a dagger three-pointer from the left wing that ultimately served as the knockout blow. That put the Wildcats up 71-66.

Forward Jacob Toppin hit a pair of free throws to go up seven, before Jett Howard hit a three with six seconds left. It didn’t matter other than to make the final score look better, with Michigan losing 73-69.

The Wolverines shot a measly 39 percent from the field compared to Kentucky’s 47 percent. The Wildcats were splendid from long range, draining 9 of their 15 three-point attempts. They also had 12 second-chance points, including some key put-backs late.

Dickinson led Michigan with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Jett Howard poured in 16 points. Toppin and Wallace paced Kentucky with 14 points a piece, while Tshiebwe finished with 13 points.