Michigan holds off Northwestern to get back on track: 'Our season still has hope'

Ann Arbor — A blown 12-point lead in the first half. A season-high 18 turnovers. One Northwestern push after another.

Michigan managed to find a way to overcome it all on Sunday and get back on track thanks to its young core of perimeter players.

Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin, freshman guard Dug McDaniel and freshman wing Jett Howard combined for 53 points against one of the stingiest defenses in the nation and helped the Wolverines fend off the Wildcats for an 85-78 win at Crisler Center.

BOX SCORE: Michigan 85, Northwestern 78

“This was a much-needed win,” said McDaniel, who had a career-high 17 points and five assists. “We were on a two-game losing streak, so we had to turn it around. Our season still has hope. In Big Ten, we're right there as a front-runner.”

Bufkin led the way with 20 points and Howard finished with 16 points and seven assists as the Wolverines (10-7, 4-2 Big Ten) managed to keep pace near the top of the conference standings.

Junior center Hunter Dickinson added 10 points and 15 rebounds for Michigan, which shot 51.8% from the field, made 10 3-pointers and found cracks in a Northwestern defense that was holding opponents under 60 points per game.

It was far from pretty and easy at times. After Michigan saw a double-digit lead turn into a two-point halftime deficit, the teams went back and forth over the first 10 minutes of the second half before the Wolverines took control. But each time Northwestern went in front or threatened, a combination of Bufkin, Howard and McDaniel were there to answer.

When Northwestern took a four-point lead less than a minute of the break, Howard canned a 3-pointer to cut it to one before a driving layup from Bufkin put Michigan on top by one. Then, after the Wildcats pulled back ahead two more times, Howard drained a deep ball to tie it and McDaniel splashed a long-range shot for a 52-49 lead at the 14:16 mark.

Northwestern (12-5, 3-3) cashed in a pair of turnovers to regain a two-point edge, but Howard responded with two free throws to kick off a string of six unanswered points. When the Wildcats took advantage of another miscue — a Howard foul on a 3-point attempt — and countered with a quick burst to grab a 59-58 lead with 10:17 remaining, Bufkin responded with a bucket in the paint that sparked a 10-0 run and put Michigan ahead for good.

“We're resilient,” Howard said. “We understand basketball is a game of runs. If we lay down and we're not resilient, we wouldn't have the outcome that we wanted.”

By the time Dickinson capped the run with an and-1 bucket, the Wolverines extended their lead to 68-59 at the 6:56 mark. Northwestern scored six unanswered points to cut it to three, but McDaniel and Bufkin kept the Wildcats at bay.

After McDaniel found freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. for an alley-oop dunk, Bufkin made a 3-pointer and a bucket inside to fuel an 11-3 spurt that put the Wolverines up, 79-68, with 1:49 to play.

The Wildcats made one last push and chopped the deficit to 79-74 with 42 seconds remaining, but they couldn’t claw any closer as Michigan was able to hang on from there.

Boo Buie scored 22, Robbie Beran 16, Clarkston product Matthew Nicholson 13 and Brooks Barnhizer 10 for Northwestern. The Wildcats outscored the Wolverines in points off turnovers (14-3) and on fast breaks (16-2), but Michigan’s 51.8% shooting and 85 points were highest and second-highest marks, respectively, they’ve allowed this season.

“It was a hard-fought Big Ten game like you're seeing this year with all these games,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “In the second half, I thought it was our inability to get stops when we needed it. If you would’ve told me before the game that we were going to score 78 points, I would have thought that would've been enough.

“Give Michigan credit, especially their young perimeter. I thought those three kids — McDaniel, Bufkin and Howard — (had an) outstanding performance. I thought we put ourselves in position on the road to get one, which isn't easy. But Michigan made more plays than us, they made more shots, and they did the things that were worthy of winning.”

Coming off a crushing overtime loss at Iowa, Michigan got off to a fast start. Howard canned a pair of early 3-pointers. Bufkin got to the rim for a pair of layups and knocked down a deep ball off a feed from Howard. By the time McDaniel joined the long-range party, the Wolverines led, 18-6, with 14:25 left in the first half.

But just when things were going well, the offense stalled during a sloppy stretch where the Wolverines turned it over five times in a three-minute span. Michigan managed to hold firm on defense until Northwestern put together a 15-4 run to erase the double-digit deficit and pull even at 27 at the 5:39 mark.

Northwestern took advantage of two more turnovers to build a six-point lead down the stretch and grab a 39-37 edge at halftime. But the Wildcats could never put the clamps on the Wolverines as they eventually wore them down.

“We threw our punches, but they kept fighting back,” McDaniel said. “We stayed poised and we kept punching back at them and it worked out for us. Hopefully we learn to never give in to fatigue … and keep fighting till the clock strikes zero.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins