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Michigan Wolverines squeak by No. 3 Maryland Terrapins without Caris LeVert

By The Sports Xchange

With leading scorer Caris LeVert out of the lineup, Michigan needed somebody to step up.

Junior guard Zak Irvin had no trouble assuming that role.

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Irvin scored a season-high 22 points and Michigan knocked down 12 3-pointers en route to a 70-67 victory over No. 3 Maryland in Big Ten play on Tuesday at Ann Arbor, Mich.

"I knew with Caris being out, everyone had to step up," Irvin said. "Kind of had the next-man up mentality. I felt like I could be able to fill those shoes tonight."

Irvin received help from sophomore forward Duncan Robinson, who had 17 points and made five 3-pointers for the Wolverines (13-4, 3-1 Big Ten). Junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. added 12 points and 10 rebounds as Michigan won for the seventh time in eight games.

Freshman center Diamond Stone had 22 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Terrapins (15-2, 4-1), who had a nine-game winning streak halted. Senior forward Josh Layman contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds and junior forward Robert Carter added 15 points.

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Maryland had the opportunity to force overtime but a tying 3-point attempt by senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon bounced off the rim with less than four seconds remaining.

"We lost the game way before that," Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon said. "We had some possessions where we came up empty."

The victory came with LeVert sidelined for the third straight time due to a lower-leg injury. It also qualifies as Michigan's top victory of the campaign.

"You don't know when the quality wins come when you get to the end of the year," Wolverines coach John Beilein said. "I know this one was a quality win. They have a great ballclub. ... This time it bounced our way. It means a lot to us."

The Wolverines led for the first 13 minutes of the second half before slipping behind by one due to being unable to defend Stone inside. The 6-foot-11, 255-pounder scored 19 of his points in the second half.

Michigan answered with an 11-2 run and consecutive 3-pointers by Walton and Irvin gave the Wolverines a 67-59 lead with 2:58 to play. Sulaimon hit two 3-pointers in an 83-second span, the second one pulling the Terrapins within 69-65 with 1:15 to go.

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Stone hit two free throws with 40.3 seconds left as Maryland cut its deficit to two points. Junior forward Mark Donnal split two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to give the Wolverines a 70-67 edge before Sulaimon missed the final shot.

Terrapins leading scorer Melo Trimble dealt with foul issues in the first half and was a nonfactor. The sophomore guard scored a season-worst two points and missed six of his seven field-goal attempts as his average dropped to 14.1.

"It's the first time all year Melo was in foul trouble and he really lost his rhythm," Turgeon said. "Some nights aren't mean to be and this was one of them."

Michigan led by eight points at halftime and quickly boosted it to 48-35 on a three-point play by Walton with 16:38 remaining. Maryland responded with an 11-2 surge -- Stone scored eight of the points -- to get within 50-46 with 12:27 to play.

Back-to-back baskets by Carter pulled the Terrapins within 54-52 with 9:10 left and Layman's jumper evened the score with 7:33 remaining. Stone's 3-point play 45 seconds later pushed Maryland ahead at 57-56 -- its first lead of the second half.

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Irvin scored 13 first-half points and Robinson added 12 on four of five shooting from 3-point range as the Wolverines held a 37-29 halftime lead. Layman had 11 points on four of four shooting for Maryland.

Michigan jumped out to a 16-9 advantage, capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman with 12:48 remaining in the half. The Terrapins responded with a 13-5 surge to take a 22-21 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter with 5:43 left in the half.

A basket by Layman gave Maryland a 25-24 edge with 4:50 left before Robinson knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. A 3-pointer by Irvin gave the Wolverines a six-point lead with 1:52 to go and Donnal tipped in Irvin's miss just prior to the buzzer to account for the eight-point halftime lead.

NOTES: Michigan senior G Caris LeVert missed his third consecutive game with a lower-leg injury. He leads the Wolverines with a 17.6 scoring average. ... The Terrapins' 15-1 start was the best in program history. ... Michigan has made 76 3-pointers over its last six games, making 10 or more in each contest. ... Maryland's previous loss was an 89-81 verdict against North Carolina on Dec. 1.

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