Michigan
8-6, 1-1
Purdue
10-5, 2-0
Michigan Loses Halftime Lead, Falls at Purdue
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2015
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)
Score: Purdue 64, Michigan 51
Records: U-M (8-6, 1-1 Big Ten), PUR (10-5, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Jan. 6 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 7 p.m. [ TV: BTN ]
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Junior Spike Albrecht tied his career-high with 17 points, but the University of Michigan men's basketball team fell at Purdue, 64-51, on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) inside Mackey Arena. The Wolverines held an eight-point lead at halftime, before the Boilermakers went on an 18-2 run in the second half to secure the victory.
Albrecht shot 4-of-5 from three and 5-of-6 from the line and added two assists. Sophomore Zak Irvin finished with eight points and four rebounds, and his classmate Derrick Walton Jr. also added eight points. Junior Caris LeVert tallied six points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Boilermakers jumped ahead to an early 7-4 lead, but senior Max Bielfeldt drained a three to put Michigan up 12-10 midway through the first half. Irvin hit a triple after Walton grabbed an offensive rebound to extend the possession, and then Irvin made a free throw to give U-M the 22-16 lead with 5:14 left to play in the half.
Kendall Stephens scored to cut the Wolverine lead to 24-20, and Albrecht answered with consecutive triples to bring the score to 30-20 and force a Purdue timeout with 2:09 remaining before halftime. A.J. Hammons made a layup with 32 seconds left, then Albrecht nailed another three to give the Maize and Blue a 33-25 advantage heading into the break.
Michigan shot 11-of-25 (44 percent) in the first half and knocked down 6-of-11 attempts (54.5 percent) from three. Purdue shot 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from the floor before halftime and went just 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from long distance. Albrecht led with nine first-half points, good for U-M's final nine points of the half.
Purdue opened the second frame on an 8-2 run, and Jon Octeus' layup cut his team's deficit to 35-33 with 16:15 left in the game. Minutes later, a Hammons jumper gave the Boilermakers their first lead of the half at 38-36. Walton was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three free throws to give U-M back the lead, but Purdue answered with seven straight points to go up 45-39 with 8:26 to play.
After a LeVert floater, the Boilermakers scored 11 unanswered points, part of an 18-2 run that put them ahead, 56-41, with less than three minutes remaining. Bielfeldt and Albrecht knocked down triples in the last two minutes, but the Wolverines ran out of time.
U-M shot 14-of-46 (30.4 percent) on the day, and went 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Purdue made 22-of-46 (47.8 percent) field goal attempts and connected on 3-of-13 attempts (23.1 percent) from long range.
Hammons posted a double-double with 17 points (7-of-11 shooting) and 12 rebounds. Vince Edwards scored 16 points, and Octeus finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. The Boilermakers outrebounded Michigan by a margin of 44-22.
The Maize and Blue returns to action on Tuesday night (Jan. 6) to take on Penn State inside Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot, Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423
