Michigan rides Tre Donaldson-led late surge past Penn State

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Jan 27, 2025

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan had Penn State’s mood matching the occasion at Crisler Center.

The Wolverines held their annual “Blue Out” contest on Monday and pulled out a 76-72 win on a late 3-pointer by Tre Donaldson that left the Nittany Lions feeling blue.

Donaldson had 21 points and scored the final seven points during a game-ending 9-0 run by Michigan (15-5, 7-2 Big Ten). Danny Wolf added 11 points and had a key block in the final minute in a game where leading scorer Vlad Goldin wasn’t feeling well and was limited to 17 minutes.

After a tight first half where neither team could put together a big run, Michigan broke the seal early in the second half with a 10-0 spurt that Donaldson had his fingerprints all over. He knocked down a corner 3-pointer. He corralled an offensive rebound off his own missed deep ball and scored on a putback. He found Wolf for a 3-pointer to put the Wolverines up 47-40.

Donaldson continued to make plays as Michigan tried to create more separation. He finished over a defender on a baseline drive then connected with Nimari Burnett (10 points) on a deep 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to make it 52-44 with 13:46 remaining.

Michigan had a tough time putting Penn State away, even when the Nittany Lions were throwing the ball away. During one sequence, an errant pass by Rubin Jones led to a pull-up 3-pointer by Ace Baldwin in transition, cutting the lead to 57-54. On Michigan’s next two possessions, Wolf missed close-range shots at the rim.

While Michigan could never pull away, it also couldn’t keep Penn State at bay. The Nittany Lions clawed back and took the lead with a 10-1 spurt. Another bad pass turnover by Jones led to another 3-pointer, this time by Zach Hicks, that put Penn State up, 67-65, with 4:24 to go.

Donaldson scored at the rim to briefly knot it, but Penn State answered with a 3-pointer from Freddie Dilione V during a wild finish.

Roddy Gayle Jr. missed a dunk attempt. A long offensive rebound off a missed shot ended up in Baldwin’s hands and led to two free throws to make it 72-67 with 2:08 remaining.

Michigan stormed back with a 9-0 run. After Gayle threw down a dunk to make it a one-possession game, Penn State turned the ball over on the ensuing possession on a Baldwin pass that went out of bounds. A mid-range jumper by Donaldson made it a one-point game with 56 seconds left.

Wolf came through with a crucial defensive stop, blocking Nick Kern Jr.’s layup attempt at the rim. Donaldson followed that with a step-back 3-pointer to give Michigan a 74-72 lead with 24 seconds to go.

Michigan hung on from there. Baldwin missed a 3-pointer on Penn State’s next trip down. Donaldson came down with the defensive rebound and sealed the game with two free throws with four seconds left.

Kern scored 16 and Baldwin 15 for Penn State (13-8, 3-7), which fell to 0-5 in Big Ten road games.

Michigan got off to a solid offensive start, despite some early fouls and Goldin checking out two minutes into the game. The Wolverines made nine of their first 13 shots, with every basket coming in the paint or behind the 3-point line.

Will Tschetter, Donaldson and Wolf each knocked down a 3-pointer during the strong shooting start. Burnett capped a string of five consecutive made shots with a fast-break dunk off a Penn State turnover. The Wolverines led, 17-11, with 14:24 left in the first half.

Penn State, though, took advantage of second-chance opportunities and live-ball turnovers to stay close. The Wolverines couldn’t secure a defensive rebound on one possession that led to a Penn State 3-pointer. Goldin was stripped from behind in the post by Kern, who was fouled on a fast break and split two free throws to knot it at 17 at the 12:23 mark.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Burnett and freshman Justin Pippen put the Wolverines back up by four before they went into a funk. With Wolf in foul trouble and Goldin clearly under the weather, the Wolverines could only muster one basket over a five-minute stretch before D’Marco Dunn hit a 3-pointer to give Penn State its first lead, 28-27, with 5:54 left in the half.

Even when Wolf and Goldin checked back in down the stretch, Michigan was never able to sustain any momentum and rip off a big run. The Wolverines never led by more than two possessions and entered halftime tied at 35.

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