EVANSTON — The sound of The Victors echoed out of the visitors locker room in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

After five straight road losses, the Wolverines finally had something to cheer about yesterday after they knocked off Northwestern 70-67.

All season, Michigan coach John Beilein has stressed the necessity of staying poised on the road.

But in the final minutes of the second half, the Wolverines' poise seemed to dissolve as the lanky Wildcat defenders applied their trap zone defense.

In the last minute and 23 seconds, Michigan's guards turned the ball over three times to let a three-point lead wash away.

The most costly of the turnovers came as fifth-year senior C.J. Lee attempted to split two defenders and had the ball slapped out of his hands. The steal set up Northwestern forward Kevin Coble's acrobatic 3-pointer that forced overtime.

As the Wolverines tried to score a game-winning basket, Lee committed another turnover, giving the Wildcats a chance to win in regulation.

Heading into the deciding period, Beilein gathered his players and reminded them to stay collected.

"You really got to make eye contact with your players at that time and say, 'We're in this together. You're going to make this thing happen, but you're going to have to will it to happen. They're not going to go away. They want this as bad as you do. You just got to work your hardest,' " Beilein said.

In the final minutes of overtime, it looked like Michigan might blow its lead again.

Freshman guard Stu Douglass turned the ball over with a four-point lead and then junior forward DeShawn Sims fouled out, hitting Coble while he attempted a 3-point shot.

Coble hit all three freebies and Michigan's lead dwindled to one.

But the Wolverines showed their poise in one crucial area that ended up being the difference maker — free throws.

Lee and forward sophomore forward Manny Harris both stepped to the charity stripe in the closing moments and knocked down key free throws.

"I'm kind of calm on the free-throw end," Harris said. "I think I'm going to make a lot of shots, but my wrist was kind of bothering me the last couple games, and I was missing a couple free throws that I should make. I was just telling myself, 'Your wrist don't hurt. It don't hurt. You're going to make every free throw.' "

Harris hit 9-of-10 free throws and Michigan scored 21 points from the line in a game that was tightly officiated with many touch fouls.

Although the Wolverines' poise wasn't as solid as Beilein would have liked, he knows how difficult it can be to win on the road in the Big Ten. Michigan State and Purdue are the only teams with a winning record in conference road games.

"When we're on the road, we're not playing the Little Sisters for the Poor," Beilein said. "Nobody else is going in there, either. It's not like we're only team that can't win on the road. Michigan State is doing a great job. Show me somebody else who is doing it on a regular basis."

Sneak peak: Beilein got to Welsh-Ryan a little early. A night before Michigan's game against Northwestern, the Michigan coach sat in the crowd to watch a high school game, according to the Chicago Tribune.

He used the trip as an opportunity to watch 6-foot-6 high school junior Alex Dragicevich from Glenbrook North High School. Dragicevich led his team with 31 points.