Michigan
11-8, 1-5
Northwestern
12-5, 3-4
Wolverines Stumble on the Road at Northwestern
1/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
• Box Score | Notes | Highlights 
• Postgame John Beilein Audio: Press Conference 
| Radio Show
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 74, Michigan 60
Records: U-M (11-8, 1-5 Big Ten), Northwestern (12-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 5,192
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 22 -- vs. Minnesota (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior guard Stu Douglass (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) scored a team-high 17 points and sophomore guard Darius Morris (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward) netted 16, but the University of Michigan men's basketball team fell, 74-60, on Tuesday night (Jan. 18) at Northwestern inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wolverines fell behind by 13 at the intermission, as the Wildcats made eight first-half three-pointers to pull away for good.
Northwestern shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) in the contest, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from beyond the three-point arc. U-M was 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor and 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from three.
Tied 10-10 in the early going, Northwestern scored eight straight points to take an 18-10 lead with 13:29 to play in the first half. Junior guard Zack Novak (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) ended the Wildcats' run with a triple to cut the Northwestern lead to five.
Michigan pulled within three on a put-back by redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit), but Northwestern answered with a triple on the ensuing possession to push the lead back to six, 25-19, with eight minutes to play in the half.
Following a free throw by Morgan, Northwestern went on a 9-2 run to increase its lead to 34-22 with 5:42 to play in the opening stanza, forcing a Michigan timeout. All nine points on the Northwestern run were scored by John Shurna.
The Northwestern lead reached 16, before freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) closed the scoring in the first half with an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Maize and Blue within 13, 44-31.
Shurna led all scorers with 22 points in the first half for Northwestern. Michigan was led by eight from Hardaway and Novak in the opening 20 minutes.
Northwestern shot 50 percent from the field (15-of-30), including 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the three-point arc in the first half. U-M was 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the floor but just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from three-point land. The Wildcats had 12 assists and just one turnover in the opening half, while the Wolverines had four assists and four turnovers.
Morris scored the first two points to open the second half, before Northwestern responded with nine straight to take a 53-33 lead with 15:51 to play in the second half.
A late 8-0 for the Wolverines, ignited by a fade away by Douglass, brought the Maize and Blue within a dozen, 72-60, the smallest deficit of the second half. Douglass scored 10 of his team-high 17 in the final 20 minutes.
Shurna finished with a game-high 24 points for the Wildcats. Luka Mirkovic added 13 points and Michael Thompson added 10 points for Northwestern.
The Wolverines will return to action on Saturday (Jan. 22) when they host No. 15 Minnesota at Crisler Arena. Game time against the Golden Gophers is slated for 7 p.m. and the contest will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
