Michael Thompson scored 17 points, all in the second half, on his 22nd birthday.Michael Thompson scored 17 points, all in the second half, on his 22nd birthday.

Northwestern's Comeback Bid Comes Up Short at Michigan, 75-66

Feb. 9, 2011

Box Score


Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score: Michigan 75, Northwestern 66
Records: NU (14-9, 4-8 Big Ten), Michigan (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Feb. 13 --at Penn State (University Park, Pa.), 2:30 p.m. CT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Northwestern used a late 14-0 run to get within one point with 2:20 remaining, but Michigan held off the Wildcats 75-66 Wednesday evening at Crisler Arena. Michael Thompson scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats struggled out of the gates, netting just one basket over the opening five minutes of play to fall behind 7-2. However, five points by Drew Crawford and a 3-pointer by Alex Marcotullio gave NU a 10-9 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first period.

Northwestern's lead was 12-11 with eight minutes remaining when the Wolverines took over. Redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan managed just five points in the first meeting between the teams back on Jan. 18, but he had found himself loose under the basket on numerous occasions on this night. He connected on eight of 10 field goal attempts over the first 20 minutes of play and scored 17 points to lead the hosts.

The Wildcats connected on just eight of 25 first-half field goal attempts as Michigan took a 34-19 lead at the break, finishing the stanza on a 23-7 run.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Michael Thompson scored the first seven points of the second period to get NU back within 34-26 and forcing the hosts to burn an early timeout.

However, Michigan answered right back with consecutive triples to put its advantage right back up to 14. A put-back by John Shurna with 8:10 to go cut Northwestern's deficit to single digits at 56-47.

A 3-pointer by Crawford with 3:28 to go made it a six-point game and Davide Curletti drew an offensive foul on the other end to get NU the ball back. JerShon Cobb then drilled a triple and Cobb stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and laid it in, and suddenly the Wildcats were within one with 2:20 to go.

But Michigan was able to withstand the flurry, scoring the game's final eight points to hold on for the win.

Crawford contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, while Cobb chipped in with 14 points. Morgan scored a game-high 27 points for the Wolverines.

Northwestern returns to action at 2:30 p.m. Central time Sunday when it travels to Penn State.

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