Junior Kevin Coble hit an improbable, off-balanced three-point shot with 21 seconds left to send the game into overtime, but couldn’t stop the ‘Cats from losing their third straight game as the Wolverines outscored NU 14-11 in the extra period to defeat Northwestern 70-67.
The Wolverines were led by sophomore Manny Harris, whose heroics gave Michigan the edge in a back-and-forth game. Harris scored 26 points, 8 of which came in the overtime period. Early in the second half, Harris went on 9-0 run by himself in a less than two-minute stretch. The Detroit native’s run turned a 29-25 Northwestern lead into a 34-29 lead for the maize and blue.
The ‘Cats top scorer was Coble, who finished with 23 points. Freshman John Shurna also had a big game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. However, the extra offense Shurna produced could not offset the offense lost by senior Craig Moore. Moore had his lowest point total of the season with just six points. It was the second straight poor offensive showing for Moore, who scored only eight points in Thursday’s loss against Illinois. Prior to Sunday, the senior was averaging 15 points per game.
The student section also made a poor showing, perhaps suffering from a hangover after the heartbreaking loss against the Illini. The section only filled up half way and was frequently out cheered by a contingent of about 50 Michigan students that made the trip from Ann Arbor.
Michigan improves to 16-10, 6-7 in the Big Ten. With wins over UCLA and Duke and a close lose at UConn, they are a bubble team and with a good close to the season could find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.
The loss puts Northwestern at 13-10 overall and 4-8 in conference play. To have a realistic shot at an at-large NCAA Tournament invite the team will likely have to win all six of its remaining games. The ‘Cats will get their next shot at a victory Wednesday night, when they play host to Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who are coming off a loss Saturday night in Wisconsin, are 7-5 in the Big Ten.