National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan 71, Penn St. 65
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 4, 2012
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Tim Clougherty, # Larry Scirotto, # Ray Perone
Attendance: 9564

No. 16 Michigan 71, Penn State 65: Trey Burke had a team-high 19 points and Evan Smotrycz added 17 as the Wolverines kept their Big Ten title hopes alive with a narrow victory over Penn State.

Michigan (23-8, 13-5 Big Ten), which began the day a game back of first-place Michigan State in the conference standings, can finish in a three-way tie for first if the Spartans fall at home to Ohio State in the final game for both teams.

If Michigan State wins, the Wolverines will finish second.

Penn State (12-19, 4-14 Big Ten), a year after posting a 9-9 mark in league play and advancing to the NCAA tournament, finished tied for last with Nebraska. The loss was the Nittany Lions’ fourth straight and their eighth in 10 games.

Penn State will play Indiana or Purdue in the Big Ten tournament’s opening round.

The Nittany Lions trailed 54-35 with 11:43 left, but cut the deficit to 62-58 on Jermaine Marshall’s layup with 2:40 left. They had a chance to make it a one-possession game on their next possession, but Tim Frazier’s attempt rimmed out. Michigan extended the lead to eight moments later.

Marshall had a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds for Penn State, which shot just 38 percent. Ross Travis had 15 and Frazier added 11.

The Wolverines shot 70 percent in the first half — including a seven-of-10 effort from 3-point range — and took a 39-28 lead into halftime. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 13 points and Zack Novak added 11.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Michigan swept the season series for the second straight year… The Wolverines finished 5-4 in Big Ten road games… Penn State went 1-7 against top 25 opponents… Michigan converted 10-of-18 3-point attempts.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan   Penn St.
Trey Burke 19 Scoring Jermaine Marshall 27
Stu Douglass 6 Assists Tim Frazier 5
Jordan Morgan 5 Rebounds Matt Glover 8
Trey Burke 5 Free Throws Made Ross Travis 5
Zack Novak 2 Steals Tim Frazier 4
Trey Burke 1 Blocks Ross Travis 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan 71 59.5 10-18 11-15 10 23 5 5 13
Penn St. 65 40.0 6-14 15-18 8 30 1 8 11