CHICAGO — It was a completely different setting — postseason play in the United Center, their backs up against the wall in a win-or-go-home situation.

But the drama played out in familiar fashion. It was a game in which the Wolverines gave it their best shot only to realize that, during this tumultuous season, their best was never enough.

The Northwestern Wildcats (15-15) hit the brakes on Michigan’s roller-coaster season in a 58-56 victory at the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. It was the third straight loss for Michigan (13-18) and its 13th in the last 14 games.

“We’re obviously disappointed that we weren’t able to pull games out,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “It’s still what it is. It’s a loss on our record and a loss for our team.”

The Wolverines had plenty of chances to pull out the win and even controlled the beginning of the game. But a series of mistakes proved too difficult for them to overcome.

Michigan dug itself out of a 10-point hole to close the gap to two with 1:08 remaining in the game. After a defensive stop, the Wolverines had 35 seconds to set up a game-tying shot. Freshman Ron Coleman — who went 0-for-7 from the field — found himself open from behind the 3-point line and fired up a miss with 23.9 seconds still left on the clock.

Northwestern guard T. J. Parker gave the Wolverines another chance to tie the game after he missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation. But sophomore Dion Harris could not convert for Michigan, missing the first of his two free throws on the Wolverines’ ensuing possession.

“I was really confident when I came up to the free throw line,” Harris said. “I thought that first one was good but it came up short.”

Trailing 55-54 with 9.9 seconds left in the game, Michigan found another way to kill its chances of catching the Wildcats. On the inbounds play after Harris’s second free throw, Parker snuck behind Michigan’s defenders, received the pass around midcourt and streaked toward the basket. Senior Dani Wohl was trailing Parker and attempted to foul him on the layup, sending Parker to the ground. Wohl was immediately called for an intentional foul.

“I was just trying to slap his arm and make sure he didn’t make the shot,” Wohl said. “Obviously I wasn’t trying to hurt the kid. I didn’t want him to make the shot.”

Parker converted one of his two free throws to boost Northwestern’s lead to two points. He then hit two more free throws to ice the game.

Parker finished with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half, helping the Wildcats overcome a six-point halftime deficit.

“We just fell short,” junior tricaptain Graham Brown said. “You got to give (Northwestern) credit. They got a 10-point lead on us, we fought hard and got back and did whatever we could to get a victory here, but they capitalized on it.”

Yesterday’s major swing came midway through the second half. A layup by Parker spurred a 12-0 run by Northwestern in just under three minutes, putting the Wolverines on their heels.

“You can’t give up a run like that,” sophomore Brent Petway said. We were in the lead, we had control of the game and the next thing you know, they go on a 12-0 run like that. It’s disheartening.”

Michigan turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions during that stretch, due in part to Northwestern coach Bill Carmody’s decision to press the Wolverines’ ballhandlers. Michigan had 19 turnovers in the losing effort.

“We had a lot of turnovers,” Brown said. “I think I had quite a few myself. That’s really hurtful to our team. We can’t have those turnovers and expect to win.”

The Wolverines did manage a small comeback in the final minutes of the game. Sophomore Courtney Sims scored a career-high 25 points after posting a goose egg in Saturday’s loss to Iowa. The center scored 12 points in the final 12 minutes, anchoring Michigan’s rally.

“I knew I had to come out and bring a lot of energy to our team,” Sims said. “I don’t think I did that last game and that’s what the problem was.”

Yesterday’s loss pushes Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament record to 3-7. Its 18 losses are also the most since the 2001-02 season, Amaker’s first at Michigan.