The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team fell today at Minnesota, 75-67, in a hard-fought matchup.
Here's how the entire game unfolded:
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First Half
Senior center Jon Teske got the scoring started with a turnaround jumper to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead right off the bat this afternoon in Minneapolis.
Senior guard Zavier Simpson hit a little floater in the lane to extend the lead to 4-0, and sophomore forward Brandon Johns made it 7-2 with a three-pointer just before the under-16 timeout.
The Maize and Blue held an 11-5 lead at the first media break.
Freshman guard Franz Wagner continued the hot three-point shooting when he nailed one at 12:56 to put U-M up 16-7, and the Wolverines held a 16-10 edge at the under-12 timeout.
Wagner hit another triple at 11:16 to give U-M a 19-10 advantage, and the three-point parade continued when sophomore guard David DeJulius drained one at 9:47 to put Michigan up 10 (22-12).
The Wolverines held a 25-19 edge at the under-8 timeout, and were shooting 50 percent from the field and 5-of-7 from three at that juncture.
A Teske triple at 5:02 gave the Maize and Blue their biggest lead at 30-19, and the club was 6-of-9 from deep at that point.
Michigan held a 31-26 lead at the under-4 timeout, but Gopher sophomore center Daniel Oturu was carving up U-M's defense, with 18 of his team's 26 points.
Michigan ended the first half horribly, missing its final six shots and allowing Minnesota to head into the locker room on a 9-0 run, with the Maize and Blue only holding a 31-30 lead.
Second Half
A midrange jumper from Oturu to open the second half gave Minnesota a 32-31 lead, marking its first lead of the game.
Two free throws from Johns at 16:45 put the Wolverines on top again at 41-40, but the Gophers took a 45-41 lead into the under-16 timeout.
Minnesota opened the second half shooting 6-of-6, and Michigan 4-of-5.
Teske picked up his third foul at the 12:44 mark, with Minnesota leading 47-45; head coach Juwan Howard kept him in, however.
The Gophers led 49-47 at the under-12 break, and the Maize and Blue were only 6-of-17 from three at that point, following their 6-of-9 start.
Redshirt junior center Austin Davis knotted the game at 49-all with a layup at 11:11, and after Minnesota went up 54-49, Simpson nailed a clutch three from the top of the key at 9:40 to trim it to 54-52.
A driving layup from Simpson at 8:25 knotted the game up at 54, and the two teams were tied at 57-all at the under-8 timeout.
Wagner nailed a clutch deep three (his fourth of the game) with 5:10 remaining in the contest to cut Minnesota's lead to 61-60, and junior guard Eli Brooks also connected on a triple with 3:15 to go to put the Maize and Blue up 65-64.
Oturu put the Gophers right back on top with a bucket, however, to make it 66-65 with 2:35 to go, and they never relinquished the lead.
A 6-0 Minnesota run put it up 70-65 with 1:48 to go, and Payton Willis drained a three with 1:01 left to go up 73-65, all but ending the game.
Simpson connected on a layup with five seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late, with Minnesota holding on for the 75-67 win.
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