'We gave it away': UM squanders late lead, Jett Howard's big night in OT loss

Iowa City, Iowa — The Wolverines have suffered their share of frustrating losses this season, from the crushing setbacks against Virginia and Central Michigan to the close finishes against Kentucky and North Carolina.

They added another deflating defeat to the list on Thursday.

After leading by as much as 10 in the second half and holding a seven-point advantage with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Michigan crumbled and wasted a career night from freshman wing Jett Howard in a 93-84 overtime loss to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Howard poured in a career-high 34 points — shattering his previous high of 21 points set in the season opener — and made seven 3-pointers. Yet, it wasn't enough as Michigan (9-7, 3-2 Big Ten) was outscored 14-5 in overtime and squandered a prime chance to pick up a conference road win.

“(We didn’t) stay disciplined,” said Howard, who made his first six shots of the game, including five from 3-point range, and tied his previous career high with a 21-point first half.

“I feel like we didn’t lock in. … We have to be more disciplined down the stretch and we have to be more clutch at the end of the day.”

Freshman guard Dug McDaniel had 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and missed a runner on Michigan’s final possession in regulation that would've won it. Junior center Hunter Dickinson added 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Wolverines.

BOX SCORE: Iowa 93, Michigan 84 (OT)

Kris Murray scored 27 and Payton Sandfort added 26, highlighted by a four-point play with 20 seconds left that forced overtime, for Iowa (11-6, 3-3). The Hawkeyes grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and outscored the Wolverines in the paint (32-18), at the free-throw line (17-4) and off turnovers (20-9).

After coughing up a seven-point lead with 2:18 left in regulation, Michigan quickly fell behind and apart in overtime as Iowa scored the first eight points and never looked back.

The Hawkeyes took the lead for good, 81-79, on a jumper from Sandfort. The Wolverines couldn't counter and turned the ball over on their first possession of overtime, as Murray turned a steal into a free throw and a three-point edge.

Michigan tried to pull even but came up empty once again on a pair of missed 3-point attempts. Sandfort then scored on an offensive putback while being fouled and converted the three-point play, giving Iowa an 85-79 advantage with 3:00 left in the extra session.

“We were confident (going into overtime),” Dickinson said. “I don't think there was a person in the huddle that thought we were going to lose. I think everybody thought we were going to win. I was very confident, personally. I knew that they had barely gotten into overtime with that four-point play, and I thought that we were going to execute down the stretch.

“We didn't change our defensive disposition in overtime from that last four minutes. We didn't have a change of disposition on defense. We continued doing the same stuff that allowed them to get back into the game.”

The Wolverines couldn't muster enough stops or shots to make a push. After Dickinson missed the front end of a one-and-one, Murray knocked down two free throws on the other end to make it an eight-point game at the 2:32 mark.

From there, Iowa extended its lead at the free-throw line to 90-81 before Howard was fouled on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws to make it a six-point game with 37 seconds left. But the Wolverines could never get any closer as they dropped their second straight conference game and another heartbreaker.

“It’s just frustration. That's the biggest thing,” Howard said. “We know we're a good team and we understand that we have to execute more down the stretch. That's what decides these games.”

Michigan was in front much of the way thanks to Howard’s hot hand. Coming out of halftime with a three-point lead, the Wolverines used 3-pointers from sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin and junior forward Terrance Williams II, who had his right hand/wrist wrapped, to widen the lead to 51-44 early in the second half.

Iowa erased the deficit in the hurry. Murray blocked a 3-point attempt by Howard, corralled the ball and raced down the court for a layup before Sandfort buried a deep ball to give the Hawkeyes a 53-52 edge with 14:44 to play.

Howard single-handedly stemmed the tide. He quieted the crowd with a 3-pointer to put Michigan back in front. After Iowa tied it back up, he knocked down a turnaround jumper and followed with another 3-pointer, this time coming off a screen from straightaway. Howard then blew by defender for a layup before sophomore forward Will Tschetter capped a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer to make it 65-55 at the 10:56 mark.

The Hawkeyes answered with a 12-4 run to make it a one-possession game. The spurt started with a quick burst of seven unanswered points, highlighted by Murray’s fourth 3-pointer, to pull within 65-62. The Wolverines briefly extended the lead to seven before Sandfort ended the run with a long-range shot to cut it to 69-67 with 6:15 left.

“It was a lack of defense on our part,” coach Juwan Howard said of what went wrong in the final minutes. “Sandfort was getting too many open looks. Getting fouls down the stretch, whether it was an offensive rebound and-1, a 3-pointer, a four-point play, those possessions can never happen. Unfortunately, we didn’t do a good job of defending the last four minutes of the ballgame.”

McDaniel tried to keep Iowa at bay. He momentarily stuffed the Hawkeyes’ momentum with a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game. Then after Iowa pulled back within two, he splashed another 3-pointer to make it 75-70 with 3:09 to play.

But the Wolverines couldn't close it out due to a defensive letdown. After pushing the lead to seven on a Dickinson tip-in with 2:18 to play, the Hawkeyes rallied behind Sandfort. He hit a 3-pointer with roughly a minute to go after Bufkin turned the ball over by stepping on the end line and drained another deep ball while being fouled by Bufkin for a four-point play to tie it at 79 with 20 seconds remaining.

Michigan had a chance to win it on the final possession of regulation, but it came up empty. McDaniel’s runner in the lane was off the mark and everything continued to go sideways from there.

“We knew this is what Iowa wanted to do. It's no secret they’re trying to score as many points as possible,” Dickinson said. “We tried to not have that happen, but we just gave the game away at the end of the day. We gave it away.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins