Northwestern
Michigan
Men's Basketball Edged by Michigan, 72-65
1/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Despite a record-tying seven 3-pointers by sophomore forward Winston Blake, Northwestern could not hold on to a nine-point halftime lead Saturday night and fell to Michigan, 72-65, at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats are now 7-13 overall, 0-8 in Big Ten Conference play.
Michigan, which trailed by as many as 12 in the opening half after a barrage of 3-pointers by Northwestern, was led by 21 points from LaVell Blanchard, including 14 in the second half. Josh Asselin added 12 of his 16 points for the game in the second stanza, as well, as the Wolverines outscored the 'Cats, 42-26.
Neither team attempted a free throw in the first half. In the second, the Wolverines (9-9, 3-4) won the game at the line, hitting 18-of-20 compared to just 6-of-10 by Northwestern.
After Jitim Young hit one of two free throws to bring Northwestern within one, at 61-60, the Wildcats had a chance to take the lead but Tavaras Hardy lost the ball while driving to the basket with 2:10 left.
Asselin then hit a pair of free throws with 1:39 to go and Maurice Searight dropped two more 25 seconds later. After a Northwestern miss, Bernard Robinson dunked before Blake sank his record-tying seventh trey of the game to make it 67-63 with 29 seconds to go.
Blanchard made 5-of-6 at the line down the stretch to clinch the win.
Northwestern sank 9-of-18 3-pointers in the opening half to build a 39-30 halftime lead, but made only 2-of-13 in the second half as Michigan used switching defenses to throw off the Wildcats' timing.
Blake hit five 3-pointers and Ben Johnson had two others in the opening 10 minutes of the game as the Wildcats pulled out to a 29-17 lead. They led 39-30 at the half.
Blake led Northwestern with 23 points on the night, finishing 7-of-13 from the 3-point line. Johnson added 19.
Down nine at the break, the Wolverines went to the 6-foot-11 Asselin on the inside with early in the second. He had a pair of dunks while scoring eight straight points, and Blanchard hit a pair of jumpers to spark a 14-2 Michigan run that put the Wolverines ahead 53-48. They never trailed again.
Collier Drayton's inside basket and a jumper by Johnson tied it for Northwestern at 59. Hardy missed a free throw for the lead before fouling Asselin on the other end, and Asselin's two free throws gave the Wolverines a 61-59 lead with 4:07 to go.
Northwestern is back in action Wednesday, closing out a three-game homestand with a non-conference matchup against Buffalo. Tipoff at Welsh-Ryan is slated for 7 p.m.
