Michigan escapes Iowa in overtime 80-78
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- DeShawn Sims scored 27 points and Michigan came from behind in the final seconds of regulation and again in overtime to beat Iowa 80-78 on Tuesday night.
Manny Harris added 20 points for Michigan (13-12, 6-7 Big Ten), which trailed by five with less than 20 seconds left in regulation and was down three in overtime before hitting two big shots.
Stu Douglass made a 3-pointer to tie it at 72 and Sims canned a long fadeaway from the left side for a 74-72 lead. Michigan's Laval Lucas-Perry followed with two free throws to make it 76-72 and the Wolverines held on.
Aaron Fuller led Iowa (9-18, 3-11) with career highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Gatens scored 21 points and Culley Payne 13.
Iowa couldn't hold on after taking a 65-60 lead on Fuller's two free throws with 22.4 seconds left. When Payne made just one of two free throws with 13.4 seconds remaining for a 66-63 lead, Michigan had its chance and Sims hit a 3 from the top of the key with 6.1 seconds to go to tie it.
Fuller than missed a closely guarded driving layup at the buzzer. Iowa fans screamed for a foul and coach Todd Lickliter walked clear across the court in frustration before calling his players together to get them ready for the overtime.
The Hawkeyes regrouped quickly, taking a 72-69 lead on Fuller's free throw and Gatens' bucket. But Iowa didn't score again until Eric May converted a three-point play with 17.5 seconds left and never regained the lead.
After a 33-33 tie at halftime, the two teams went back and forth until Iowa appeared to take control down the stretch. Gatens, who made his first five 3-point shots, hit one from the top of the key to break a 52-all tie and May followed with a fastbreak layup to put the Hawkeyes up 57-52.
The Hawkeyes stayed ahead until Sims rescued the Wolverines in the final seconds.
First he scored inside while drawing a foul and sank a free throw with 15 seconds to play, cutting Iowa's lead to 65-63. Then, after Payne made his free throw, Sims came around to the top of the key and nailed his game-tying 3-pointer.
It was a typical performance for Sims, who makes a habit of putting up big numbers against the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-8 senior had averaged 23.5 points in his two previous games against Iowa and 19 in his previous four.
In nine career games against Iowa, Sims has scored in double figures in all but one.
Michigan finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers in 27 attempts. Lucas-Perry added 13 points for the Wolverines, while Sims and Harris each grabbed 10 rebounds.