Michigan
8-5 (1-0)
Illinois
10-4 (0-1)
Michigan Rallies Past Illinois in OT in Big Ten Lidlifter
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2014
• Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
• Beilein Press Conference 
| Postgame Report
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 73, Illinois 65 (OT)
Records: U-M (8-5, 1-0 Big Ten), ILL (10-4, 0-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 12,707 (sellout)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 3 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 2:15 p.m. [TV: BTN]
• Kornacki Postgame Feature: Dawkins Breaks Out in Big Ten Opener
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Aubrey Dawkins was 6-of-7 from three-point range, part of 10 triples from the University of Michigan men's basketball team as the Wolverines came from 13 down in the second half to defeat Illinois, 73-65, in overtime Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 30) inside Crisler Center in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Dawkins scored a career-high 20 points, one of four Wolverines to score in double figures. Junior Caris LeVert had 19 points and five assists, while sophomore Zak Irvin and freshman Ricky Doyle had 13 points apiece. Junior Spike Albrecht tallied six rebounds and five assists to go with his four points.
Michigan jumped out to a 7-2 lead after LeVert's three-pointer at 17:27. His jumper at 15:51 made it 9-5 Wolverines, but Illinois answered, going on a 7-0 run over a 2:15 span to take a 12-9 lead. The Fighting Illini led by as much as seven (20-13) in the first half, but Michigan quickly tied it after a three from Dawkins and putbacks from senior Max Bielfeldt and Doyle all in 1:09 of game time. After LeVert's layup at 2:10 tied the game at 22, Illinois closed the half on a 9-4 run, taking a five-point lead to the locker room.
LeVert led U-M with 11 points in the first 20 minutes. The Wolverines forced the Fighting Illini into seven first-half turnovers and shot 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the floor.
Four straight points from LeVert, the last two on a fast-break dunk, cut the Illinois lead to 37-32, but the Fighting Illini went on a 9-3 run, capped by a Malcolm Hill jumper at 11:57. Illinois led by as much as 13 points in the second half as the Maize and Blue chipped away at the lead on a three from Dawkins and a pair of triples by Irvin, making it 50-44 Illini with 9:15 left. Dawkins' fourth three of the game at 7:50 trimmed Illinois' lead to five at 52-47 with 7:50 to go.
Dawkins' fifth triple started a 9-2 run, capped by back-to-back layup from Doyle to give the Maize and Blue a 56-55 lead with 2:29 left. Hill put the Illini back on top (57-56) with a layup at 1:38 but on the next possession, Doyle got free under the hoop for a layup to put U-M ahead by one with 1:13 to go. Hill then made a pair of free throws as Illinois retook the lead. Doyle was fouled going for a dunk on Michigan's next possession, and he made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score at 59 with 30 seconds left. Rayvonte Rice's fadeaway jumper was short, and Irvin's desperation heave at the buzzer was on line, but strong and the two teams went to overtime.
Hill scored the first two points of overtime with a pair of free throws, before Michigan went on a 5-0 run with two free throws from Dawkins and a three by Irvin at 3:44. Dawkins gave U-M a 67-63 lead with a three at 1:51. LeVert bumped the lead to six (69-63) with a jumper with 42 ticks left, giving the Maize and Blue its largest lead of the game. Michigan added insurance with four free throws, two apiece from Irvin and Albrecht, as the Wolverines opened conference play with an eight-point win.
The Wolverines shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the field and outrebounded Illinois, 39-36. The Maize and Blue defense held the Fighting Illini to 2-of-8 shooting in the overtime while going 3-of-5 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes.
Michigan faces Purdue on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) for its first Big Ten road contest of the season. Tipoff at Mackey Arena is scheduled for 2:15 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot, Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423
