Hawkeyes Fall to No. 3 Michigan in Final Minute

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team fell to No. 3 Michigan, 71-68, on Thursday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Senior Night. The Hawkeyes move to 20-10 overall and 10-9 in conference play.

Trailing early, Iowa responded with an 11-2 run to take a 13-7 lead five minutes into the game. During the stretch, the Hawkeyes forced six turnovers, including two shot clock violations, while making 4-of-5 field goals. Michigan answered with a run of its own, taking a four-point lead as Iowa went cold, making just 1-of-9 from the field. Trailing 26-21 after starting 1-of-11 from 3-point range, Iowa hit its next three attempts from deep to take a 30-28 lead. Michigan scored on the final possession of the half as the Hawkeyes held the Wolverines to a season-low first-half points, entering halftime tied, 30-30.

Junior Cam Manyawu recorded eight first half points and five rebounds, while senior Bennett Stirtz also added eight points. Iowa shot 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from the field and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range, while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes forced 12 Michigan turnovers in the half, converting them into 16 points.

Michigan led 42-35 four minutes into the second half before Iowa used an 11-1 run to take a 46-43 lead with 12 minutes remaining. After a few lead changes, Michigan pushed its advantage to 10 with six minutes left, Iowa’s largest deficit of the game. The Hawkeyes answered with another 11-1 run to tie the game at 64-64 with two minutes remaining.

Michigan regained the lead before Manyawu tied the game again with 52 seconds left. A Wolverines layup made it a two-point game with 43 seconds remaining. Trailing by three with seven seconds left, freshman Tate Sage made two free throws to cut the deficit to one. Michigan converted both free throws on the ensuing possession, and a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt from Stirtz to tie the game just missed.

Stirtz led Iowa with 21 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Manyawu tied a season high with 14 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Iowa shot 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) from the field and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes were outrebounded 38-22 but forced 18 Michigan turnovers, outscoring the Wolverines 26-5 in points off turnovers while committing just five turnovers.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Tough one. I thought our guys competed their hearts out. I thought everybody that came in did a great job, in particular, obviously Bennett kind of wills us. If he’s not one of those top picks, I mean, people are crazy. I mean, he’s tough. Does the best matchup, defends, wills his team to victory, didn’t win tonight, but wills his team to fight. Tavion, he’s giving up three to four inches. Cam’s giving up inches. They are just a bunch of warriors. I really enjoyed coaching tonight, I’m not going to lie to you, I really enjoyed it. That’s how I want to play. I want to win. I want to win those games. I did enjoy it though; I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the crowd, I appreciate the crowd the whole season, you can see it’s trending in the right direction. We just have to keep building, keep going, and keep going the right way.”

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes fell to No. 3 Michigan, 71-68, on Thursday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a game that featured eight ties and 14 lead changes.
  • The loss is Iowa’s third against a top 10 opponent this season.
• Iowa used an 11-1 run late in the second half to erase a 10-point deficit. The game was tied at 64 with 1:57 left and at 66 with 52 seconds remaining. 
  • Michigan ran a backdoor lob to Aday Mara with 43 seconds remaining to take a 68-66 lead. 
  • Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz had a look at a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
• Iowa finishes the regular season with a 14-3 record at home.
• The Hawkeyes had two players finish in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (21), Cam Manyawu (14)
• Stirtz recorded his 11th 20-point game in the last 13 contests (18th this season).  He finished 7-of-23 from the field with four 3-point field goals and was 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
  • Stirtz played all 40 minutes for the 13th time this season. 
• Manyawu tied a season high with 14 points, scoring 10+ points for the second time in three games (ninth time this season). He also led the team with eight rebounds.
• Iowa held the Wolverines to 71 points – 18 below its season average – but the Wolverines shot 53.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 17-of-22 from the charity stripe.
  • The Hawkeyes were 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Michigan out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 38-25. 
• Iowa forced 18 Wolverine turnovers, turning them into 26 points in the contest.
  • The Hawkeyes committed just five turnovers.
• There were five ties and seven lead changes in the first half before it ended in a deadlock at 30 all.
  • The Wolverines’ 30 first half points were a season low. It was just the seventh time this season that the Wolverines didn’t lead at half.
  • Michigan had eight turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes and 12 turnovers in the first half. Iowa converted those miscues into 16 points.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes close out the regular season Sunday, traveling to Lincoln to face No. 9 Nebraska at 4 p.m. (CT) inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. The game will be televised on FOX.