Michigan collapses in final minute against Vanderbilt, season ends in second round of NIT

Michigan’s frustrating season came crashing to an end with an unfathomable finish.

In a campaign that’s been defined by one heartbreaking loss and one blown opportunity after another, the shorthanded Wolverines closed the season with a final fitting chapter in the second round of the NIT.

Leading by eight in the final minute, No. 3 seed Michigan collapsed, turned the ball over three times and watched No. 2 Vanderbilt close the game on a 9-0 run in a 66-65 loss Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.

Junior center Hunter Dickinson finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and was called for goaltending on Vanderbilt’s go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left. Freshman guard Dug McDaniel had 19 points and one of the costly late turnovers and grad transfer wing Joey Baker added 11 points for Michigan (18-16).

Tyrin Lawrence scored 24, including the winning bucket, while Ezra Manjon added 17 points and Colin Smith scored 11 for Vanderbilt (22-14), which scored 18 points off 15 Michigan turnovers.

BOX SCORE: Vanderbilt 66, Michigan 65

After battling back from a 12-point deficit in the first half, Michigan traded blows and the lead with Vanderbilt during a back-and-forth start to the second half.

Baker and Dickinson carried the offense out of the break. The two combined for Michigan’s first 22 points and kept putting the Wolverines back in front. After Vanderbilt took a one-point lead, Dickinson finished at the rim. After the Commodores pulled ahead again, Baker countered with two free throws to make it 38-37 at the 16:20 mark.

Michigan continued to provide a steady diet of post touches to Dickinson and Vanderbilt had no answer. Dickinson made his first six shots after halftime and went on a personal 11-2 run for Michigan to help widen the gap. He threw down a two-handed dunk. He finished over a double-team. He scored at the rim through contact and converted a three-point play. He made two free throws to make it 52-42 with 10:52 remaining.

The Commodores took advantage of back-to-back turnovers and empty possessions by Michigan. They attacked the basket, scored consecutive baskets at the rim and cut the deficit in half, 56-51, with 8:28 to play.

Michigan used three free throws from freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. to make it an eight-point game. But Vanderbilt kept hanging around and a 3-pointer by Trey Thomas cut it to 61-57 at the 3:47 mark.

The Wolverines created some needed breathing room. During one sequence, McDaniel banked in a floater off the glass and drew a charge on the other end. Baker followed that with a mid-range jumper to push the lead to 65-57 with 1:45 remaining.

That set the stage for stunning final minute. After Dickinson missed a point-blank look, Lawrence converted a three-point play. Vanderbilt’s pressure forced back-to-back turnovers by junior forward Terrance Williams II and McDaniel, leading to two free throws and a layup from Manjon to make it 65-64 with 20 seconds left.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Michigan turned it over again. Williams couldn’t handle a pass from Dickinson and Dickinson was called for goaltending on Lawrence’s driving layup attempt, giving Vanderbilt a 66-65 lead with 12 seconds left.

On Michigan’s final possession, the Wolverines got off two shots, but McDaniel’s floater was off the mark, Dickinson’s tip-in missed and the curtains came down a rather forgettable season.

Michigan had to switch up its starting lineup on Saturday because it was without freshman wing Jett Howard (ankle), sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin (ankle) and sophomore wing Isaiah Barnes (leg). It replaced Bufkin and Howard with Baker and Khayat, who finished with three points and three rebounds in his first start, and swapped Williams in for sophomore forward Will Tschetter.

With the pieced-together lineup, the Wolverines struggled on both ends during a rough start. Michigan couldn’t get much going on offense trying to play through Dickinson and wasn’t offering much resistance on defense.

Vanderbilt ripped off a 17-0 run that was fueled by Michigan turnovers and Smith. A poor pass by McDaniel was picked off and led to a fast-break dunk. After an errant entry feed into the post by Baker sailed out of bounds, Smith ended the flurry with back-to-back corner 3-pointers. The Commodores jumped out to a 17-5 lead and forced a Michigan timeout with 12:51 left in the first half.

The Wolverines responded with a run of their own and erased the deficit in a hurry. After Williams snapped Vanderbilt’s spurt with an offensive tip-in, McDaniel brought Michigan back with a three-point play and a pull-up jumper to cap a string of nine unanswered points that made it a one-possession game.

But McDaniel wasn’t done. He continued to torch the Commodores with his jumper and buried back-to-back 3-pointers that knotted it at 20. By the time Williams made two free throws to put the finishing touches on a 19-5 run, the Wolverines pulled ahead, 24-22, at the 6:58 mark.

Vanderbilt regained a three-point edge before Dickinson made a pair of hook shots in the paint down the stretch and Michigan took a 30-29 lead into the break.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins