Dawson Garcia drills deep three at the buzzer, Michigan loses overtime game at Minnesota, 84-81

Michigan Wolverines basketball dropped its first Big Ten game of the season, losing 84-81 in overtime at Minnesota. The Gophers were 0-6 in conference play entering Thursday night’s tilt, notching their first Big Ten win.

Michigan and Minnesota were all tied up with under 10 seconds to go, before Gopher forward Dawson Garcia made a three from the logo as the buzzer sounded. He finished with a game-high 27 points, one of three Gophers with 20-plus points.

Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.

First half

Michigan came into the evening ranked 328th nationally in turnover rate, and giving the ball away was an issue early in the game. The Wolverines recorded 3 turnovers in the first 1:45 and saw Minnesota get out to a 5-2 lead.

Junior forward/center Danny Wolf committed 2 of the turnovers, and he had an early seat on the bench, replaced by redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter, a state of Minnesota native.

Tschetter added a spark, too, despite committing a foul soon after coming into the game. He hit a left corner three with the assist to graduate guard Nimari Burnett that put Michigan up 7-5 ahead of the under-16 media timeout. The Maize and Blue attempted just 5 field goal attempts in the first four minutes, compared to Minnesota’s 8, but did hold a slight lead.

Tschetter continued to show out in his home state. He hit another three to put Michigan up 10-5 and mark an 8-0 run. He also had a second-chance layup to make it 12-9 minutes later.

The Wolverines continued to play sloppy, with 6 turnovers — 4 of them committed by Wolf — and going 3-of-11 on two-pointers in the first 10 minutes. Burnett also committed his second foul at the 9:59 mark, stressing the guard depth. Jones played the majority of the first half in replacement of Burnett.

Graduate center Vladislav Goldin hit a three to put U-M up 17-15, after Minnesota held a one-point lead that was fueled by a 6-0 run.

Graduate guard Rubin Jones made his eighth three-pointer of the season (20-15), and Michigan made 4 of its last 5 field goal attempts while leading 24-21 at the 6:20 media timeout. However, the turnover issues were one of the reasons why the Maize and Blue didn’t hold a bigger advantage.

Tschetter knocked down his third triple of the game to give the Wolverines a 27-21 edge, but Minnesota battled right back. Forward Dawson Garcia scored 5-straight points to cut the deficit to one, 30-29, with just over four minutes remaining.

Michigan junior point guard Tre Donaldson had a solid first half, notching 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting with 3 assists. He hit a floater and three-pointer to mark five-straight points all by himself, sparking a Michigan run. Michigan went on a 10-0 run that was highlighted by Donaldson’s plays, a Wolf three and 2 free throws by junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson called timeout with his team down 40-29 and 1:23 on the clock. The Golden Gophers were on a three-minute scoring drought at that juncture.

The Wolverines ended the half missing their last 4 field goal attempts but still held a 40-31 lead.

Tschetter (11 points), Donaldson (11) and Goldin (10) combined for 32 of Michigan’s 40 points. The Wolverines shot just 7-of-20 from inside the arc in the first half, after entering the game leading the nation with a 63.3 two-point field goal percentage on the season.

Second half

Michigan got an easy bucket for Wolf to go up 42-31, but Minnesota had a strong start to the half, making it a four-point game with a 10-3 run, highlighted by threes from Mike Mitchell Jr. and Lu’Cye Patterson. Mitchell became the first Gopher in double digits, possessing 11 points at that juncture.

Donaldson got a steal and fed Wolf in transition, leading to a layup plus a foul. Wolf missed the free throw, but Michigan led 51-41 with under 13 minutes to go.

Minnesota hadn’t made a field goal in over five minutes at the under-12 media timeout, but the Gophers were starting to run up the foul count on Michigan. The Wolverines committed 6 second-half fouls in the first eight minutes.

Minnesota tied the game up with a brutal sequence for Michigan, the Gophers going on a 10-0 run. Goldin missed a hook shot and a dunk, and Jones turned the ball over with a bad pass. On the other end, meanwhile, Patterson stayed hot with a three and a mid-range jumper, and Garcia finished a transition layup that prompted a timeout from Michigan head coach Dusty May. The two teams were knotted up at 51-51 with 10:15 remaining.

Michigan led 57-53 at the media timeout with 7:47 remaining, after a solid stretch. Tschetter made a short jumper in the paint with the assist to Wolf, and Wolf finished a layup after notching the offensive rebound. The Wolverines were getting to the rim more, but still only shooting 4-of-9 from inside the arc in the second half to that point.

Wolf turned his game around in the second half, a catalyst for Michigan. At the 5:40 mark, he put Michigan up 61-56 with a layup. He had 10 points and 2 assists in the second half at that point.

Minnesota came charging back, though, scoring 6-straight points, 4 of them by Garcia. Patterson also got around Goldin, who was switched onto him, for a layup to take Minnesota’s first lead of the second half, 62-61 at the 4:05 mark. Michigan called another timeout.

Mitchell drilled a jumper off an inbound, after Minnesota notched an offensive rebound, to give the Gophers a 64-61 edge to conclude an 8-0 run. Wolf tied the game with a three, and the two teams went back and forth, tied 66-66 at the 2:09 mark.

Patterson hit a triple late in the shot clock with 50 seconds to go, putting Minnesota up 69-68, just after Wolf found a cutting Burnett for a beautiful bucket to give Michigan a two-point edge. Patterson had 17 points after his third made three.

Goldin missed the front end of a one-and-one with just over 40 seconds left. But Michigan’s pressure defense stepped up, forcing a poor pass by Isaac Asuma that hit the backboard. Wolf was left alone with the ball on the ensuing possession, and he drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to put Michigan up 71-69 with 28.9 seconds to go.

Garcia drove down the right side of the lane and was fouled by Gayle. Garcia made both free throws to tie the game up with 7.4 seconds to go, 71-71. Donaldson raced up the floor and missed a rushed layup as he was fouling down amid contact from two defenders, and time expired. Michigan and Minnesota were headed to overtime at 71-71.

Overtime

Mitchell hit a kick out, second-chance three after a Goldin missed layup, and Minnesota led 74-71 early in overtime.

The Gophers continued to hold a lead, with a Patterson layup and short jumper by Garcia putting them up 78-75 with just over two minutes to go. Wolf got Michigan within one with a pair of free throws on the next possession.

Burnett got to the foul line but made only one of two free throws, tying the game 78-78 with 1:13 remaining. Minnesota called timeout after advancing the ball up the floor.

Patterson hit a turnaround jumper to put Minnesota up 80-78, before Michigan nearly turned the ball over but regained it and called timeout with 26.5 seconds to go. Out of the timeout, Wolf found Goldin underneath, and he was fouled (Garcia’s fourth personal). He only made one free throw, though, and the Wolverines still trailed by one (80-79). Gayle picked up his fifth foul following the rebound, with Jones replacing him.

Patterson went to the line and connected on one try (81-79). Wolf tie d it up by getting right to the rim for a layup. Minnesota had the last possession, and after rushing up the floor, Garcia nailed a desperation three-pointer from the logo to win, 84-81.

Garcia finished with a game-high 27 points, shooting 10-of-23 from the field with 2 made threes on 7 attempts. Patterson (22) and Mitchell (20) joined him with 20-plus points. No other Gopher had more than seven points.

Michigan vs. Minnesota box score