Defense fails Michigan in frustrating loss to Maryland
Ann Arbor – It was a different opponent but nearly the same story for Michigan.
The Wolverines got off to a sluggish start and the offense went missing for stretches in the first half, leaving them no choice but to dig out of a hole in the final 20 minutes just like Wednesday’s come-from-behind win over Penn State.
BOX SCORE: Maryland 77, Michigan 70
This time, Michigan’s rally came up short as the Wolverines couldn’t get key stops down the stretch and fell to Maryland, 77-70, Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center.
Moritz Wagner scored 17, Zak Irvin 15, D.J. Wilson 13 and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 12 for Michigan (11-5, 1-2 Big Ten), which trailed the majority of the game.
“We wait to get hit in the mouth before we come out and play and we can't let that happen, even though it worked against Penn State,” Irvin said. “Big Ten, it's a tough conference. You're not going to be able to do that every game. It's just a lesson learned."
After trailing 37-28 at the break, Michigan opened the second half with a 9-1 run to cut it to 38-37 with 14:37 remaining. Abdur-Rahkman started it with a layup, Wilson hit a basket in the post and Wagner scored five points on a dunk and three free throws
Maryland (14-2, 2-1) pushed its lead to six on four separate occasions but Michigan managed to answer back every time, the last on an Abdur-Rahkman offensive putback and Irvin fast-break layup to pull the Wolverines within two, 57-55, with 6:58 left.
From that point on, neither team could stop one another defensively as Maryland hit seven of its final eight shots.
The Terrapins pulled ahead by seven after Kevin Huerter hit a 3-pointer from the wing but the Wolverines wouldn’t go away as Wilson countered with a deep ball to make it 69-65 with 2:22 left.
Melo Trimble (13 points) hit a jumper to put Maryland up by six and Wagner answered with a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game, 71-68, with 1:14 remaining.
But Michigan couldn’t get a stop as Justin Jackson (15 points) silenced crowd with a layup to put Maryland up 73-68 with 48 seconds left.
Walton hit a layup to cut it to three and keep hope alive, but Michigan’s rally fell apart as Anthony Cowan hit two free throws and Walton misfired on a 3-pointer on the next possession.
Jackson added two more free throws with 16 seconds left to make it a seven-point game, sealing the outcome and sending fans streaming for the exits.
“We were guarding them pretty well and that was the key until crunch time,” Wagner said. “We were holding them down to 38 percent until the last seven or six minutes.
“It’s very frustrating out there on the court. You work your butt off every day in practice as hard as you can and then you get beat at home like that. I don’t really know what to say right now.”
Maryland went right at Michigan early on and scored in the paint at will. Damonte Dodd (15 points) proved to be a handful in the post, scoring six points on a dunk, layup and two free throws as Maryland opened up a 10-6 lead with 17:07 left in the first half.
Michigan battled back and evened it at 14 after Xavier Simpson drove baseline and found an open Duncan Robinson in the corner to tie it at the 12:12 mark.
But the Wolverines started misfiring and Maryland went on 14-4 run over the next six minutes to pull ahead 28-18 with 5:49 left in the half.
Jared Nickens (12 points) provided the spark with a pair of 3-pointers, Jaylen Brantley hit a tough fall-away jumper, Dodd added a three-point play and Jackson finished it with a 3-pointer from the wing. Michigan could only muster a Wagner layup and Irvin jumper during the stretch.
The Wolverines began to find an offensive rhythm and scored six straight on two Abdur-Rahkman driving layups and a Mark Donnal basket cut it to 28-24 with 4:10 remaining.
Maryland used a 9-2 spurt to add some separation and go back up by double digits before Abdur-Rahkman hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 37-28 at halftime.
“We do a lot of talking about how we want to get stops, want to do this, want to do that. It's not showing and it didn't show this afternoon,” Irvin said. “That's why we lost. For us to be able to crawl back in the game and be right there and for them to make seven of their last eight, we all got to learn from it. Everyone on the team."
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