Michigan's Lendeborg Hits Top Spot in Final 20 Minutes to Boost Big Ten Chances!
CHICAGO (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg yelled and pumped his right arm in celebration before he was mobbed by the rest of his Michigan teammates. The 6-foot-9 forward turned a halftime message from coach Dusty May into one of his best moments in a huge season. Lendeborg made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.
4 seconds remaining, sending No. 3 Michigan to a 68-65 victory over No. 23 Wisconsin in Saturday's first semifinal at the Big Ten Tournament.
He scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. The game was tied at 62 when Lendeborg grabbed an offensive rebound and passed to Elliot Cadeau for a 3 with 45 seconds left. But Nick Boyd responded with a tying 3 for Wisconsin.
With the United Center crowd standing in anticipation, Michigan tried to find Lendeborg inside on its last possession. But the Big Ten player of the year ended up making his way back outside before getting a pass from Cadeau and drilling the winning 3, leading to his emphatic celebration. “The play call was for me to get the ball down low in the post,” Lendeborg said.
“I didn’t do a good job sealing. (Cadeau) had a driving angle. I tried to clear it out for him, and he kept his composure.