Michigan comes up short in 'demoralizing' double-overtime loss at Illinois

Champaign, Ill. — Of all the Big Ten teams, there’s one hurdle Michigan coach Juwan Howard’s squads haven’t been able to get over: Illinois.

The Fighting Illini proved to be a roadblock once again on Thursday night. But this time, they stalled the Wolverines’ frantic postseason push in a wild double-overtime loss.

After rallying from a seven-point deficit late in regulation, Michigan let a seven-point lead in overtime slip away and saw its three-game win streak come to an end as it fell short, 91-87, at State Farm Center.

BOX SCORE: Illinois 91, Michigan 87 (2OT)

“It's pretty demoralizing,” said junior center Hunter Dickinson, who finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds and missed a potential game-winning shot at the end of the second half.

“Seeing how well we played, we put ourselves in a position to win. Up seven in overtime, you really can't ask for a better situation to be in. We just didn't make the plays down the stretch.”

Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 23 for Michigan (17-13, 11-8 Big Ten), which fell to 0-6 against Illinois during Juwan Howard’s tenure and stumbled into a six-way tie for second place in the conference standings.

Freshman wing Jett Howard, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, added 15 points and made three 3-pointers in his return to the lineup before fouling out late in the second overtime. His most notable deep ball capped a 7-0 spurt and knotted the game at 70 with 47 seconds left in regulation.

Howard’s game-tying bucket helped put Michigan in a position to prevail in a matchup where the Fighting Illini continuously used their speed to get to the basket and beat the Wolverines up in the paint. After Dickinson denied RJ Melendez at the rim, Michigan secured the ball and called its final timeout with 15 seconds remaining.

But on the final play of regulation, Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins stood his ground against Dickinson and Dickinson’s shot in the paint missed the mark. Illinois’ last-second heave from beyond halfcourt wasn’t close.

“If I could take it back, obviously I would do something a little different,” Dickinson said. “I thought he (Hawkins) was going to jump on my pump fake, but he didn't. He stayed solid.”

Added Jett Howard: “I'll live and die with Hunt's shot because he makes that left-handed hook a lot and he got fouled on that play. I love that shot.”

Michigan struck first in overtime behind Howard and Dickinson, who combined to score all 11 of the Wolverines’ points in the first extra session. Howard kicked things off with a 3-pointer on the opening possession to grab a 73-70 lead.

Then after Dickinson scored three consecutive baskets in the paint, Howard added two free throws and Michigan appeared to be in control, 81-74, with 1:49 remaining.

“(We were) being more cautious and I would say we got a little conservative,” Jett Howard said of the seven-point lead. “We've got to get better at that. There was little stuff that creeped in like, 'Oh, we might win it.' But it didn't happen.”

Illinois (20-10, 11-8) rattled off seven unanswered points to erase the deficit as things went awry for Michigan. Terrence Shannon Jr. kicked off the run by getting into the lane and drawing a foul on a runner that led to a three-point play.

Following an offensive foul on Dickinson and a missed 3-pointer by freshman guard Dug McDaniel that was open but deep, Shannon got into the paint again and finished through contact as freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. fouled out with 26 seconds left.

But Shannon couldn’t break the 81-all tie and make the free throw to complete the three-point play. That opened the door for Michigan, once again, to hold the ball for the last shot.

On the Wolverines’ final possession of overtime, grad transfer wing Joey Baker faked a pass to shed his defender and missed a 3-pointer. Illinois grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get off a shot before time expired.

“You couldn't ask for better looks,” Dickinson said. “The Dug (shot) was a good look. … Joey at the end was a good look. You can't ask for much better play-calling down the stretch. (Coach Howard) put us in a situation to win.”

Once the second overtime started, Illinois wasted little time jumping ahead. Matthew Mayer scored on back-to-back possessions with a 3-pointer and layup to give the Fighting Illini an 86-81 lead at the 3:43 mark.

From there, Michigan was chasing the rest of the way. After Dickinson scored on a layup to cut it to 88-85, the Wolverines numerous chances to tie it but couldn’t find the equalizer. Howard committed a turnover and misfired from deep. Dickinson made a hook shot while being fouled but missed the free throw, cutting the deficit to 88-87 with 41 seconds left.

On Illinois’ ensuing possession, Michigan got the initial stop as Shannon missed a 3-pointer. But the Wolverines couldn’t track down the long rebound and Shannon chased down his own miss. Howard committed his fifth and final foul with 10 seconds to go and Shannon made both free throws to make it 90-87.

But just like the first overtime, Michigan came up empty on its final possession. Baker got a clean look from 3-point range off an inbounds play, but he airballed the shot and Illinois hung on.

“The second look by Joey Baker, I thought it was a great shot,” Howard said. “He's hit that numerous times. When we shoot, it's not going to always go in. It's tough to bank on that one. But it happens. We're human.”

Mayer scored 24 and Shannon 21 for Illinois, which scored 46 points in the paint and finished with more made free throws (26) than Michigan attempted (24). The two also accounted for 17 of the Fighting Illini’s 21 points in the two overtimes.

At one point, it didn’t look like the game would ever reach overtime when Illinois used 14-4 run that featured a series of dunks to pull ahead, 50-41, with 13:24 left in regulation.

The Wolverines stormed back with a 12-2 flurry that was fueled by Bufkin. He scored eight straight points during the spurt and ended it with back-to-back 3-pointers to put Michigan up, 57-56, with 7:47 remaining.

Mayer snapped the spurt with a driving layup and three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot. That sparked a 14-6 surge for Illinois that Shannon capped with two free throws to make it 70-63 at the 2:35 mark.

That paved the way for Michigan’s final push that extended the game. Bufkin scored at the rim on a goaltending call, Dickinson followed with a hook shot and the defense forced critical turnover. It all led to Howard’s game-tying 3-pointer and, in the end, another tough loss to swallow.

“It was one of those great games that you wish you had a chance to witness,” Juwan Howard said. “Unfortunately, there's going to be one team that wins and one team that loses. I feel bad for our guys because they competed from start to finish.

“Having players foul out, key players, we were still able to maintain and figure it out and claw and fight. It hurts to lose this ballgame, but I'm proud of our guys' effort.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins