Posted Jan. 19

Despite going on a scoring binge in the game's final five minutes, the Michigan men's basketball team fell to Iowa, 68-60, in front of a near sell out crowd at Crisler Arena.

The Wolverines have yet to win a home game in conference play and have won just once at Crisler since a Nov. 11.

Freshman Manny Harris and sophomore DeShawn Sims led the late-game charge, scoring 18 of Michigan's final 24 points. Freshman Kelvin Grady chipped in with six.

With under a minute and a half left and Michigan trailing 58-50, Harris launched a 3-pointer from four feet beyond the arc. As the ball bounced off the backboard and went in, the referee signaled a shooting foul, causing the crowd to go crazy in approval. Harris completed the four-point play to cut the Hawkeye's lead in half.

Following two Iowa free throws, Grady nailed a triple from the right corner to make the game 61-57. On the Wolverines' next possession, Sims brought the crowd to its feet again, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 63-60.

But the trio's heroics down the stretch couldn't outshine the Hawkeye's duo of Tony Freeman and Cyrus Tate.

The guard-forward combo scored career highs against the Wolverines (1-5 Big Ten, 5-13 overall), attacking from inside the paint and beyond the arc.

Freeman led all scorers with 28 points, more than half of which came from the outside. Tate dominated underneath the basket, scoring 21 points and collecting 11 rebounds.

Michigan began the game on a positive note, something that has been difficult for the young team to do this season.

Led by junior Jevohn Shepherd's seven points, the Wolverines jumped out to a 9-2 lead, their biggest of the game. But Michigan failed to capitalize on that momentum and allowed Iowa to work its way back into the game.

A Justin Johnson 3-pointer brought the Hawkeyes (2-4, 9-10) within one point with four and a half minutes to go in the first frame.

Shepherd and Sims responded with two and three-point field goals, respectively, to make it 27-21 with three minutes remaining.

But Iowa remained aggressive and scored the half's final eight points to take a 29-27 lead into the half.

The Wolverines struggled to recover, playing flat for most of the second half. Prior to its late scoring barrage, Michigan was outscored 21-9 by the Hawkeyes.

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