Michigan basketball loses 5th straight, falls 84-76 to Purdue
Michigan got off to a much-needed good start against Purdue, getting a pair of Dug McDaniel triples in the first 4 minutes on the way to a 10-4 lead. The Wolverines kept it competitive for much of the first half, but the Boilermakers grabbed control late in the stanza and never looked back on the way to an 84-76 win.
It didn’t help the Michigan cause when sophomore big man Tarris Reed picked up his second foul at 1:50 of the first half on an inbounds pass, a silly foul that would prove costly. Grad Tray Jackson then came in and picked up two ticky-tack, questionable fouls, and the Boilermakers were in the bonus at the 14-minute mark.
But Michigan kept applying the pressure and stayed a step ahead for the first 10 minutes of the half. A Jace Howard triple and a McDaniel three-point play made it 19-13 at 12:49. The fouls kept mounting, though — Purdue was in the bonus at 12:12 on an over-the-back call on guard Nimari Burnett, his second foul — forcing head coach Juwan Howard to go deeper into his bench.
Michigan kept coming. A Will Tschetter finish, and-one, put the Wolverines up 22-15 at 10:37. But Purdue went on a 6-0 run with McDaniel on the bench for a breather, needing about a minute and a half to cut its deficit to one. Burnett picked up his third foul on a moving pick seconds later, bringing seldom-used Youssef Khayat off the bench, and the Boilers took a lead before Jackson made it 25-23 with a banked triple rom the top of the key.
Frosh George Washington hit a corner 3 at 6:28 to make it 30-29 Michigan, but that would be the Wolverines’ last lead. Reed picked up his third on yet another soft, moving pick call, and the Boilermakers went on a run to take control. They pushed it to 40-32 and the Purdue contingent — some estimated they made up at least 50 percent of the crowd — took over the gym. Howard refused to call a timeout though his team appeared gassed.
The Boilers crowd brought the house down when Lance Jones hit a third-chance triple, and it was 46-34 when big man Zach Edey finished a second-chance bucket at 1:21. The half ended 47-36 after another Edey finish.
McDaniel led Michigan with 9 points, while Tschetter and senior Terrance Williams II added 7 each in the first half. Purdue had 15 second chance points and 26 points in the paint.
SECOND HALF — Michigan battles, but comes up short
Michigan hung even with the boilermakers for the first 4 minutes, but Tschetter picked up his fourth personal foul early and went to the bench. To their credit, the shorthanded Wolverines kept battling. It was 58-50 at 13:00 when Jackson scored 5 points, including a triple, to provide a spark.
An Edey three-point play at the other end on Reed’s fourth foul gave the Boilermakers the momentum back. Still, Michigan kept coming. The Wolverines cut it to 7 when Jace Howard scored 5, including a triple. All Purdue had to do, though, was dump it in to Edey for the answers. He scored four straight to push the lead back to 11.
To their credit, the Wolverines kept battling. They had several chances to keep it a single-digit game, but a Burnett triple went in and out with Michigan down 8 at the 8:00 mark. Tschetter then fouled out on a questionable call, and the Boilers were in control at 7:38.
But … the fight continued. McDaniel’s two drives and finishes cut it to 78-70, and another stop gave the Wolverines a chance. McDaniel missed a triple, and Reed fouled out when Jones appeared to grab his arm going for a loose ball on the rebound. Jones missed the front end, and Howard made a free throw a the other end to cut it to seven.
Mason Gillis pushed it back to 10 with a triple from the top at 2:14 — Burnett answered at 1:49, and it was 81-74. The Boilermakers closed it out at the line.
McDaniel led Michigan with 19 points. Burnett added 12, Williams 11, and Tschetter and Jackson 10 each. Michigan fell to 8-20 overall, 3-14 in Big Ten play with 3 games remaining.
