Michigan
14-0,4-0Big Ten
Penn State
9-6,0-4Big Ten
Michigan Holds Off Late Penn State Charge to Remain Unbeaten
1/6/2026 11:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The second-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team fought off a late second-half comeback from Penn State in a 74-72 win on Tuesday night (Jan. 6) at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Leaders and Best
L.J. Cason led the Wolverines in scoring for the first time this season, matching his career best of 14 points -- all of them coming in the first half -- for his fourth double-digit game in five games. Nimari Burnett and Trey McKenney each added 12 points and two rebounds. Yaxel Lendeborg had a balanced game, scoring 10 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing four assists, both of which led the team.
Second Half
Holding a nine-point lead entering the second half, Elliot Cadeau got the scoring started with a shifty layup from the right side after grabbing an offensive board off his own three-point miss. Michigan went on a near three-minute, 13-4 run highlighted by Burnett (five) and Lendeborg (four) contributing nine of those points. The Wolverines took their largest lead at that point of 13 points (53-40) into the under-16 timeout.
Michigan found another stretch of four consecutive field goals in a 10-2 scoring run, with McKenney responsible for seven points. Penn State answered with 9-0 run to cut the Michigan lead to six points, 63-57, with 7:50 to go. The Nittany Lions whittled the lead to three after a three-pointer with 7:13 remaining.
Aday Mara scored with 6:55 to go to end a U-M scoring drought of almost four minutes. Lendeborg then hit a pair of free throws to reach double digits before Cadeau's went for four straight points to bring the lead back up to eight points, 71-63, with 4:01 on the clock. Penn State responded, hitting a three-pointer and two free throws before forcing Morez Johnson Jr. to foul out. Mara made a free throw with 15 seconds to go, the first Michigan points since the 3:09 mark, and the defense forced a contested desperation Penn State three that bounced off the rim to seal the win.
First Half
Michigan (14-0, 4-0 Big Ten) controlled the tipoff and it took Lendeborg just 17 seconds to score the first points of the game off a layup. Penn State (9-6, 0-4 Big Ten) then rattled off three quick buckets to force the Wolverines into an early five-point deficit, 7-2. A Burnett slam ended the PSU scoring run and the Wolverines found themselves six points, 12-6, before a 6-0 run knotted the game at 12 with 11:55 to go.
Cason splashed a triple from almost three feet behind the arc for Michigan's first three-point bucket of the game. Mara made a pair of free throws, and a Cason layup through contact capped a 13-2, five-minute run. During the run, Penn State missed 10 of its 11 field-goal attempts. Back-to-back buckets from Burnett helped build a 24-17 U-M lead with 8:01 to go in the half.
Cason, McKenney and Cadeau combined for four straight field goals ending at the 3:16 mark, pushing the Wolverines lead to 34-24. Cason's second three-pointer with 38 seconds left gave him 14 first-half points, matching his career high in just 20 minutes of play. At halftime, Michigan led 40-31.
What's Next
The Wolverines will return to Crisler Center on Saturday (Jan. 10) to host Wisconsin for a Blue Out game. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on CBS.
Notes
• The Wolverines are the only Big Ten team with five or more players averaging double-digit points this season.
• Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. are inching closer to career milestones. With another 13 points, Burnett would reach 1,000 career points, and with another three points, Gayle would reach 500 points scored for Michigan.
• For the ninth time in 14 games, Michigan grabbed 30 defensive rebounds or more, led by Lendeborg, Mara, and Johnson, who each had seven.
• Michigan's bench has scored 30 points or more off the bench 11 times, including in 10 in the last 11 games. Cason and McKenney came off the bench and scored double-digits at PSU.
• Mara has recorded multiple blocks in 11 of the 14 contests so far this season, including nine of the last 10 games. His four tonight mark his fifth performance of three or more this season.
