Ann Arbor – When the Wolverines squared off against a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents earlier this season, they had to sweat out and survive two close calls.
On Thursday, they were taken to the brink once again by another MAC enemy.
But this time around, Michigan finally fell as it closed out the year and nonconference play with a stunning 63-61 loss to Central Michigan at Crisler Center.
More:BOX SCORE: Central Michigan 63, Michigan 61
Reggie Bass scored 16 and hit the winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds left for Central Michigan (5-8), which picked up its first true road win of the season and its first victory over Michigan since Dec. 15, 2007.
Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 16 and missed a 3-pointer on the final possession for Michigan (7-5), which shot 35.1% from the field (20-for-57), finished 6-for-22 from beyond the arc and missed his last five shots over the final four minutes.
“Let me give (Central Michigan) credit for coming out here and playing harder than us, being more physical than our team, being more prepared than our team. And it starts with me first as a coach,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “Central Michigan was the team that was the grittiest, toughest, nastiest.
“There have been some games we lost versus Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina where there were mental mistakes that hurt us. But tonight, we just got outplayed.”
Last month, Michigan escaped a Motown showdown against Eastern Michigan with an 88-83 win at Little Caesars Arena and avoided disaster against Ohio with a 70-66 overtime victory.
Michigan couldn’t do the same against Central Michigan, which pulled off the upset despite shooting 20.7% from 3-point range (6-for-29) by turning 17 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. The Chippewas’ zone defense also held the Wolverines to their second-worst shooting performance of the season.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot throughout the game, and it’s been a trend,” said junior forward Jace Howard, one of the team’s captains. “These games, especially these home games, I feel like we have been shooting ourselves in the foot and we’ve been able to sneak out of them.
“Let’s just call it for what it is. We were down in each one down the stretch, in the last five minutes (in previous home games) and now it finally got us. It finally bit us in the butt.”
Michigan was clinging to a 61-60 lead with 2:27 remaining but could not close it out. The Wolverines followed a pair of defensive stops with missed 3-point attempts on their next two possessions, which left the door open for the Chippewas.
Central Michigan made the most of its last chance. Following a timeout, Bass got the ball near the top of the key and dribbled to the wing. He used a fake shot to get freshman guard Dug McDaniel up in the air before he rose and drained the clutch deep ball.
On Michigan’s final possession, Bufkin’s corner 3-pointer was off the mark and junior center Hunter Dickinson (13 points) couldn’t tip in the putback as the ball was batted away and time expired.
“It’s up there,” Central Michigan coach Tony Barbee told CM Life about the importance of the win. “It’s up there from Final Fours, Elite Eights, conference championships, this is as good as any of them when you’re trying to build a young program. And hopefully we can build off of this.
“I talked to the guys about this. In life and in basketball, there are opportunities that come in front of you that you’re either ready for when you take advantage of them or they pass you by.”
Following a low-scoring first half where Michigan led by one at the break, neither team could get much separation. After Michigan pulled ahead by six less than three minutes into the second half, Central Michigan ripped off seven unanswered points in a 30-second span to go in front.
The quick flurry ended when Bass was fouled on a 3-point shot. After making the first two free throws, Bass missed the third and neither team could corral the rebound, with the ball being called out on Michigan. On the ensuing inbounds play, Jesse Zarzuela (19 points) made a 3-pointer to give Central Michigan a 36-35 lead at the 16:14 mark.
From there, a seesaw stretch ensued. Carrington McCaskill snuck in, snagged an offensive rebound, and scored on a putback to give Central Michigan a 42-39 advantage. Freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. finished at the rim to put Michigan up, 44-42. Bass drained a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt that put the Chippewas ahead, 49-44, with 10:30 to play.
Michigan clawed back and pulled even four times, the last on a pair of free throws from McDaniel (10 points) that knotted it at 60 with 3:14 remaining. The first three times, Central Michigan answered to pull back in front. The fourth time, Michigan forced a turnover on a Bufkin steal and Dickinson split two free throws to give the Wolverines a one-point lead with 2:27 to play.
But Michigan couldn’t hang on and stave off a third upset bid by a MAC team. Instead, the Chippewas snapped a four-game losing streak in thrilling fashion and gave the Wolverines a tough pill to swallow heading back into Big Ten play.
“Stay together, I feel like that’s what we’ve got to do,” Jace Howard said. “We’ve been doing a good job of doing it throughout the tough losses this season. This one is definitely the toughest because we feel like we could beat this team. … I mean, this is the lowest you can get. The only way to go is up. That’s what we’ve got to do because I feel like at this point you either run from it or you embrace it.
“It’s the make or break of our season right now. You can sulk, do all the bad things that aren’t going to help us get over the hump, which we need to, which we will. I think everyone is going to embrace that. We’ve embraced it after our four hard losses…and it’s our job (as captains) to make this not be a recurring event because I feel like we’re a lot better than that.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins