'Found a way': Michigan edges Iowa to push win streak to seven

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was a happy but nerve-wracking homecoming for the Wolverines.

Back at Crisler Center for the first time in over two weeks and coming off back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, they kept the good vibes rolling on Saturday thanks to a late goaltending call.

In a Big Ten home opener in which Michigan let a 16-point first-half lead and an 11-point lead late in the second half slip away, Roddy Gayle Jr. scored the decisive basket with 3.2 seconds remaining in a nail-biting 85-83 victory over Iowa.

“We're proud that we found a way to win in a game that seemed to have a lot of different emotions, runs and some high-level guard play on both teams,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “Iowa fought tooth and nail for 40 minutes. … We're fortunate that we got this one in the (win) column.”

The Wolverines (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) looked like they were on their way to a stress-free finish when they built a 76-65 lead with 6:30 left to play. But a late push from Iowa and a 3-pointer from Payton Sandfort following Michigan’s 17th turnover of the game knotted it at 83 with 20 seconds to go.

During a timeout, May drew up a play for which Gayle was the first option. On the possession, Gayle received a pass from Tre Donaldson at the top of the key and drove past Iowa’s Pryce Sandfort.

Two Iowa defenders collapsed on Gayle, with Payton Sandfort swiping at the ball and Owen Freeman trying to block the layup attempt from behind. Freeman was whistled for goaltending and the basket was upheld after an official review.

“We thought they would pay a lot of attention to Vlad (Goldin) and Danny (Wolf) in a ball screen that's been so effective, so we just used those two as a decoy essentially,” May said of Michigan’s final offensive play. “We felt like if Roddy got downhill, Danny and Vlad were going to have an opportunity on the glass.”

May explained that the Wolverines could’ve waited a couple more seconds and made sure they got the last shot of the game. But he felt they had better odds of scoring on a play when Gayle could draw help defenders and big men Goldin and Wolf could get a running start to crash the offensive glass.

“Hats off to Roddy. He made a really good play,” May said. “Vlad and Danny set good screens. Tre chased it. It looked like an RPO (run-pass option) keeper in football and those guys executed well.”

With 3.2 seconds left, Iowa (7-2, 1-1) still had enough time to get off one last shot. The Hawkeyes advanced the ball past midcourt, called a timeout with 1.1 seconds remaining and were looking to win their second straight Big Ten game on the final play.

In Tuesday’s conference opener against Northwestern, Josh Dix hit a deep buzzer-beater on an out-of-bounds play with 0.8 seconds left. This time, the Hawkeyes missed the potential winning shot, as Pryce Sandfort’s contested 3-pointer from the corner was off the mark and the packed Crisler Center crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.

Gayle finished with 17 points and scored Michigan's only two field goals in the final six minutes. Both came in the final 45 seconds, with his last bucket being the difference.

“It was executed perfectly,” said Goldin, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds. “What we expected them to do (on defense) is what they did. It was a little bit nervous … but we did what we wanted, and we got what we wanted.”

Donaldson added 18 points, Wolf tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds and Will Tschetter scored 13 off the bench for Michigan, which has won seven straight for the first time in four seasons.

Payton Sandfort scored 19 and Pryce Sandfort 16 to lead five double-digit scorers for Iowa. The Hawkeyes won the turnover battle, 17-4, and had a 19-2 advantage in points scored off giveaways, which played a big role in allowing them to claw back from double-digit deficits in both halves.

In the first half, Michigan had it going at both ends and jumped all over Iowa. A 12-0 blitz — highlighted by a coast-to-coast layup when Donaldson grabbed the defensive rebound, raced the other way and made a defender fall on a crossover — put the Wolverines up, 20-4, less than eight minutes into the game.

Michigan’s hot start cooled considerably as Iowa feasted on turnovers and miscues to dig out of the 16-point hole. Goldin’s pass to a cutting Gayle was tipped and stolen, leading to a 3-pointer the other way. Sam Walters fouled Payton Sandfort on a 3-point shot, leading to three free throws. A carrying violation by Donaldson was followed by an Iowa second-chance bucket.

After taking a slim 40-37 lead into halftime, Michigan fell behind early in the second half before Tschetter delivered what May called a “momentum-changing play.” Tschetter connected on a 3-pointer in transition during a 7-0 spurt that put the Wolverines up 55-51 with 13:36 remaining.

Michigan kept Iowa at bay over the next seven minutes and extended the lead to 76-65 on a layup by Wolf before the Hawkeyes began their late-game surge.

During Iowa's push down the stretch, a shot clock violation by Michigan preceded a possession on which Iowa corralled three offensive rebounds and scored at the rim. Then after a sequence in the final minute when Gayle scored a layup and Iowa committed a turnover, the Hawkeyes got the ball back after a pass by Wolf was picked off at midcourt, leading to Payton Sandfort’s tying 3-pointer.

That set the stage for the tense finish, where Gayle and the Wolverines prevailed and followed up Tuesday’s triumph at Wisconsin with another important conference victory.

“These two opening Big Ten games (in December) set the tone a little bit, especially coming out with two (wins) against two really good teams,” Tschetter said. “It gives us confidence. Starting off right leaves a good taste in your mouth. There are 18 more (Big Ten) games left. We’ve got to stick to it and finish how we started.”