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Landry helps Wisconsin win 10th straight, fend off Michigan

Jan 23, 2008 - 6:37 AM MADISON, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Marcus Landry became the latest player to extend Michigan's tough stretch.

Landry connected on a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining as No. 11 Wisconsin fended off a tough challenge from the slumping Wolverines en route to a 64-61 victory in the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday.

Landry finished with 14 points along with Michael Flowers as the Badgers (16-2, 6-0 Big East) captured their 10th straight win. Wisconsin also improved to 50-2 in league games at the Kohl Center under coach Bo Ryan.

"When you're having a season like Wisconsin is having right now, these are tough games," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "Sometimes these are bigger wins, believe it or not. Landry stepped up and made a big shot. So the next time they are in that situation like that they are more comfortable doing it."

This did not figure to be a tough matchup for Ryan and the Badgers, as the young Wolverines entered reeling under the first-year coach Beilein.

Michigan, which has lost eight of its last nine games, was an earlier victim to Wisconsin at home on January 2, as Badgers' reserve freshman Jon Leuer scored a season-high 25 points in a 70-54 victory.

While the forward failed to score this time out, Wisconsin appeared on its way to another strong win, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half. Michigan (5-14, 1-6), however, rallied right before halftime and attempted to pull ahead in the second behind the play of freshman Manny Harris.

Harris finished with a season-high 26 points, but committed a key turnover in the closing moments before eventually fouling out.

Ryan credited the close outcome on playing the Wolverines for a second time.

"We just figured there were going to be a lot of games like this, ones that were going to come down to the last three or four minutes," he said. "I think I said that months ago and I'm not changing my mind. There are players that get extremely hot, and other times earlier in the year they weren't moving the way they're moving now defensively. Not just in the zone, but in the man-to-man.

"Manny has been some places now in the league. We expected it to be a two- or three-possession game. And if it was anything more than that, we would have shut down all scorers. And that just wasn't going to happen."

Looking for just their fifth win in their last 13 meetings with the Badgers, the Wolverines pull even at 53-53 with 4:08 to play when Ekpe Udoh's jumper capped an 11-2 run.

"I think there were four or five runs that Wisconsin made, and this game could have gotten ugly quick, but we fought back every time and answered," Beilein said. "I am proud of our guys. That is the little victory we got tonight, not getting down when things didn't go our way."

Harris, who previous high was 25 points in a loss at Purdue on January 5, had five points during the burst.

Jason Bohannon ended that spurt with a runner in the lane and Landry added a follow shot to give Wisconsin a 57-53 advantage with 3:21 to go.

Although it did get a 3-pointer by DeShawn Sims off a busted play, Michigan could not pull ahead especially after Harris lost the ball driving into the lane with 45 seconds remaining.

Trevon Hughes then found Landry at the right wing for his second basket from the arc in the game, and Sims was off the mark from long range for the Wolverines on the other end.

"We didn't get flustered when they hit the threes and kept cutting," Ryan said. "I thought we had a resilient response to their scoring streaks."

Bohannon, who finished with nine points, made two free throws for a 64-58 lead with six seconds left before David Merritt's 3-pointer as time expired.

Surprisingly Bohannon's attempts from the stripe were only two of nine free throws for Wisconsin. Overall, both teams combined for only 13 attempts.

"Nine's not a lot of free throws, but we did touch the post to get some points in the paint," Ryan said.

After a 3-pointer by Harris cut Michigan's deficit to 26-24 with 47 seconds left in the first set, Flowers hit a jumper moments later to give Wisconsin a four-point lead at the half.

That advantage would grow in the second half, as Hughes' jumper with 16:21 left capped a 7-2 run for the Badgers.

Although the Wolverines managed to slice that deficit to one point twice, Wisconsin's lead went back up to nine points at 51-42 on a layup by Michael Flowers with 8:27 remaining.

Harris finished 11-of-19 from the field with two 3-pointers for Michigan, which lost despite pulling down 20 offensive rebounds to just nine for Wisconsin.

Udoh and Sims added 10 points apiece and combined for 15 rebounds for the Wolverines, who finished with a 35-24 advantage on the glass.