Michigan Survives A Scare Against Penn State, Remains Undefeated

For nearly the entire season, No. 2 Michigan has been untouchable, but maybe no one told Penn State.

The Nittany Lions (9-6 overall, 0-4 Big Ten) had a chance to stun the Wolverines (14-0, 4-0) on the final possession of the game, but they came up just short, and Michigan did just enough to secure a 74-72 victory on the road.

The Wolverines got off to quite a slow start. In the opening minutes of the game, they racked up four turnovers and gave up four offensive rebounds, stats uncharacteristic for their season. Penn State took advantage, shooting the ball well and making Michigan uncomfortable on its way to opening up a 12-6 lead after five minutes of play.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason entered the game, though, and helped the Wolverines flip the score with some help from junior center Aday Mara. With a little under 13 minutes to play in the half, Cason threw a lob for Mara who slammed it home to make the score 12-10 in Penn State's favor.

On the very next possession, Mara repaid the debt through a full-court pass to Cason, who drew the foul and knocked down two free throws to tie the game at 12 apiece. And if that wasn't enough, Mara found Cason again one possession later, and this time Cason hit a 3-pointer. Mara finished the sequence with two free throws to cap off a 9-0 run that turned a 12-8 deficit into a 17-12 lead.

Michigan's defense had settled in, too. After a hot 5-for-10 start from the field, the Nittany Lions went ice cold, making just two of their next sixteen shots. Mara was at the center of it all, collecting three blocks in the first half alone.

On the back of Cason's 14-point spark off of the bench and Mara's four assists, the Wolverines overcame their slow start and took a 40-31 lead into the break.

Michigan started the second half a bit flat, allowing Penn State to open up on a 5-0 run. But on the back of several offensive rebounds, the Wolverines responded with a 7-0 run for themselves to mitigate the damage.

Head coach Dusty May put on some full-court pressure as well, trying to force the pace of the game to rise to where Michigan likes it. The Nittany Lions were sped up, and the Wolverines were making a concerted effort to run in transition and get easy looks at the rim. Helped by the pressure and tempo, Michigan began to open up a larger gap, leading 53-40 just under five minutes into the second half.

Penn State had been feisty all year, though, and it didn't let the Wolverines simply run away with the game. It answered Michigan's attempt to pull away with a quick 6-0 run to draw the score back to 53-46.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. and freshman guard Trey McKenney erased the Nittany Lion's hard-earned run in an instant and gave Michigan another 13-point lead at 61-48 with 11:38 to play.

Penn State wasn't discouraged, however, and it threw yet another punch. After falling down by 15, the Nittany Lions collected nine straight points to close the deficit to just six at 63-57 at the under-eight minute timeout. The Wolverines were on their heels, and Penn State had all of the momentum.

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions hit yet another 3-pointer to bring the score within three points, but graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg found Mara on a lob to extend the lead back to two scores, 65-60.

With under two minutes to play, Penn State guard Melih Tunca knocked in a right-wing triple to cut the deficit to three points once more, 73-70. With a chance to re-extend the lead, junior guard Elliot Cadeau turned the ball over. On the other end, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. picked up his fifth foul, and Penn State hit both free throws to draw within one point, 73-72, with 1:04 remaining in the game.

Both teams came up empty on their next possessions, so the Nittany Lions had to resort to fouls. Luckily for them, they fouled Mara, a 40% free throw shooter. Mara split the pair, giving the Wolverines a 74-72 lead with 15 seconds to play.

Penn State guard Freddie Dillione had the ball in his hands for the final possession. Lendeborg gave him no space, and he had to heave up a fallaway 3-pointer that clanged off the back of the rim.

The Wolverines exhaled a collective sigh of relief as they survived their first real test since TCU nearly two months ago. Regardless of how it looked, Michigan left Happy Valley with a 74-72 win and an undefeated record.