ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Charles Matthews scored 14 points, and No. 24 Michigan outlasted Northwestern 58-47 on Monday night.
The Wolverines (18-6, 7-4 Big Ten) labored through an ugly first half but still led 21-19 after 20 minutes. They ended up shooting just 42 percent from the field and 7 of 25 from 3-point range, but Northwestern (13-10, 4-6) couldn’t take advantage.
Scottie Lindsey scored 15 points for the Wildcats, but no other Northwestern player had more than nine.
Michigan was coming off an exciting 92-88 loss at Purdue on Thursday night, but this game wasn’t at all similar to that one. The Wolverines trailed 14-5 at the midpoint of the first half, and the Wildcats led 19-11 after a dunk by Lindsey with 7:06 remaining.
Then it was Northwestern that couldn’t score. The Wildcats were shut out for the rest of the half as Michigan chipped away.
Moe Wagner scored five points during a 7-0 run in the second half that put Michigan up 48-38.
Wagner, Jordan Poole and Duncan Robinson finished with eight points each. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 11 points for the Wolverines.
