Feb. 9, 2008
Ann Arbor, Mich., Feb. 9, 2008 - Penn State (11-12; 3-8 Big Ten) led by as many as seven points in the second half but couldn't make the plays down the stretch to hold on and fell, 68-63, at Michigan (6-17; 2-9 Big Ten) Saturday.
The Wolverines shot 54 percent from the floor to snap a six-game losing streak and down the Nittany Lions for the 11 straight time. Penn State fell to 1-13 in Crisler Arena after shooting just 36 percent from the floor and hitting 1-of-8 down the stretch.
"We made some foolish plays and then ran into a spurt where we couldn't make a basket," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "We didn't shoot very well, but still had a chance to win. We had open shots, we just didn't make them."
Freshman Talor Battle led the Nittany Lions with 13 points, his fifth straight game in double-digits and eighth overall in the Big Ten. Senior Mike Walker had all 10 of his points in the first half and Stanley Pringle added 10 points and four assists. Penn State hit 10-of-30 from three and won the rebounding battle 33-32.
Michigan was led by 16 points from freshman Manny Harris and 16 points and nine rebounds from DeShawn Sims. Anthony Wright hit 3-of-3 from the arc to add 13 points as the Wolverines hit 56 percent from the floor in the second half.
A Walker three put Penn State up four, 16-12, midway through the first half and another Walker three had the Lions up, 24-23, with 6:02 to play in the half. However, Michigan closed the half with a 9-2 run to take a 32-26 lead into halftime. A Harris dunk off a rebound, two of 10 second chance points in the half for the Wolverines, and a three-point play from Sims closed the scoring in a half that saw 10 lead changes.
Penn State opened the second half with a 12-0 run to take a 38-32 lead as Michigan failed to score for the first 5 ½ minutes. Three-pointers from David Jackson and Pringle helped fuel the Penn Sate run capped by a Battle jumper. Junior Jamelle Cornley, playing after receiving a root canal for a broken tooth on Thursday, picked up his third foul and had to go to the bench with just over 16 minutes to play.
Harris drained a three with 14:35 to play to get Michigan on the board in the half. Danny Morrissey answered with a three for Penn State to push the lead back to six, 41-35. A bucket by Andrew Jones built the Penn State lead to as much as seven, 43-36, with 13:31 to play. Michigan got a pair of threes from Wright and Zack Gibson to cut the lead to one, 45-44, with 11:27 to play. A pair of free throws from Battle and another Morrissey three built it back to six, 50-44, but Michigan then used a 9-0 run and a Penn State scoreless stretch of nearly four minutes to reclaim the lead, 53-50.
Harris had a pair of baskets in the run, including a dunk off a Sims steal to cap the Michigan spurt and force a Penn State timeout with 8:03 to play.
Penn State battled back getting buckets from Cornley, Jones and Pringle to retake the lead, 56-55, with 5:12 to play. Sims answered with a nice reverse pivot move and jumper for a 57-56 Michigan lead and the last of 14 lead changes in the game. Battle got a steal and was fouled as he went for the lay-up. He made one of two to tie the game. Michigan got back-to-back baskets from Ekpe Udoh and Sims to take a 61-57 lead with 3:09 to play and would play with the lead the rest of the way as Penn State struggled to make baskets.
Four free throws from David Jackson kept Penn State within striking distance. Penn State trailed 64-61 after Jackson was fouled on a desperation three-point attempt and made two-of-three at the line with 50 seconds to play.
Penn State had chances to cut the margin late, but Battle had a drive blocked by Udoh, his sixth block on the day, and then the Nittany Lions fumbled away the ball and Sims capitalized with a dunk on the other end for a 68-61 Wolverine lead that sealed the game with 17 seconds to play.
Penn State will get a week off before returning to action at the Bryce Jordan Center next Saturday, Feb. 16, when they take on Illinois. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network. It is Coaches Vs. Cancer Day at the Jordan Center with a silent auction and
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