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Burke helps Michigan slip past Penn State

Mar 5, 2012 - 12:02 AM University Park, PA (Sports Network) - Trey Burke scored 19 points and Evan Smotrycz added 17, helping No. 13 Michigan take down Penn State, 71-65, on Sunday.

Michigan needed help from its archrival Ohio State later on Sunday to earn a share of the Big Ten regular season title.

The Wolverines got it.

William Buford's jumper with a second remaining lifted the Buckeyes to a 72-70 win over the Spartans and helped the Wolverines earn their first Big Ten title since 1986.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 13 points for Michigan (23-8, 13-5 Big Ten), which closed the season by winning six of its last seven games. The Wolverines shot 59.5 percent from the floor.

"We have had to win games in all kinds of ways this year, and today was unique from the standpoint that we let Penn State get out to a great start. We battled back and had a comfortable lead at half-time that probably extended too early. Then we had to hang out a little bit because of the turnovers we have had," Michigan head coach John Beilein said.

Jermaine Marshall had a game-high 27 points to lead the Nittany Lions (12-19, 4-14), who lost their last four contests.

Marshall nailed a pair of treys early on as the Nittany Lions led, 17-16. But Tim Frazier, Penn State's leading scorer, picked up his second foul with 11:30 remaining in the opening half.

With Frazier on the bench, the Penn State offense became inept while Michigan went on a 23-2 run, building a 39-21 advantage late in the first half. Hardaway and Smotrycz hit a pair of triples during the stretch.

"That's tough with Tim out of the game, he's our leader and he's obviously the focal point on this team, so having him would have helped us a lot, but he got in foul trouble early," Marshall said.

The Nittany Lions, though, closed the stanza on an 8-0 spurt to pull within 39-28 heading into the break.

Michigan shot a staggering 70 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Stu Douglass' jumper gave the Wolverines a 56-37 advantage midway through the second half, but Penn State didn't go down quietly.

Marshall netted eight points as the Nittany Lions scored the next 13 points of the game, making it 56-50 with 5:46 to play.

It became a four-point game, 62-58, on Marshall's jumper with 2:38 left, but Penn State never got any closer. Burke scored six points down the stretch to seal the win for Michigan.

Game Notes

Frazier scored 11 points...The Nittany Lions held a 28-16 points in the paint advantage, led the second chance points category, 15-3, and outrebounded Michigan, 31-23...Michigan was 10-of-18 from beyond the arc.