Michigan basketball falls to North Carolina 80-76 in chippy Jumpman Invitational clash

Michigan basketball brought the energy to start its clash against North Carolina in the inaugural Jumpman Invitational — but perhaps a bit too much.

The Wolverines, looking to avoid a slow start, set the tone physically; crashing the glass, finishing layups in traffic and diving for loose balls.

And then, with about seven minutes to play in the first half, Michigan's Hunter Dickinson and Dug McDaniel got into a a shoving match with North Carolina's Caleb Love and Armando Bacot after a hard foul.

It seemed to wake the Tar Heels from their sloppy start.

From there, the defending national runner-up turned a four-point deficit into a seven-point lead at the break and never looked back, denying U-M a signature win in the 80-76 loss to UNC on Wednesday in Charlotte.

The marquee matchup entering the game was the battle of two potential All-American bigs in Bacot and Dickinson, and North Carolina's center won it going away. Bacot finished with 26 points and five rebounds while Dickinson managed just nine points and eight rebounds.

It looked as if the game was over with about five minutes to play.

Michigan was in the midst of a six-minute drought without a field goal and North Carolina had extended its lead to nine when the Wolverines rattled off six straight — a Joey Baker free throw, a Dickinson tip-in and a Baker 3-pointer to get Michigan back inside three points for the first time all half.

After McDaniel turned the ball over with 2:49 to play, Bacot responded with a layup to get the lead back to five before a Terrance Williams long ball at the top of the key made it a two-point game with just more than two minutes to play.

Leaky Black and Bufkin traded mid-range jumpers, and a floater by Love made it 75-71 with 50 seconds remaining before Williams missed a 3-pointer and North Carolina put the game away at the free-throw line.

R.J. Davis had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, Love had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Black had nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds for UNC.

Despite an uncharacteristic night from Dickinson (3-for-9 shooting), Michigan's guards kept it in the game the whole way. Kobe Bufkin led U-M by tying a a career-high with 22 points, Jett Howard added 17 and McDaniel finished with seven points and five assists.

Howard blocked a shot on North Carolina's opening possession and would then knock down his first two shots, both three-pointers, the second which came off a pump fake and a step back to put the Wolverines up, 14-9, in the midst of a run where they made six of seven shots.

He'd later hit a tough floater off the glass to put Michigan up 22-15, but moments after committed his second foul about halfway through the first. He did check in four minutes later, but Michigan's offensive rhythm was lost.

After opening 9 of 15 from the floor, U-M made just 6 of 25 shots to close the opening period. A Howard layup put Michigan up 30-28, before North Carolina closed on a 13-4 spurt.

The Tar Heels punched first in the second half when Bacot made a bucket despite the foul on the first possession. Twice early North Carolina pushed the lead out to nine points, but each time Michigan had an answer.

The first time, Dickinson and McDaniel each hit a pair of free throws. The next time, down 61-52, Bufkin turned a Carolina defender around with a hard dribble and buried a 3 before Howard tipped in an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to four.

A defining sequence of the game came next.

The Wolverines had the ball down four when Dickinson got possession at the elbow, turned and squared his shoulders to Bacot. After a few dribble fakes, he pulled up, but Bacot got a piece of the shot and it fell short of the hoop.

On the ensuing possession, Bacot dished out the assist on a three-pointer by Davis, which was followed by a travel call on Dickinson.

Wednesday was the third consecutive game Bufkin has scored at least 15 points after never having done so prior to that. Baker's nine points are tied for his second most in a Michigan uniform, his best showing since scoring 14 against Pittsburgh more than a month ago. He also hit multiple 3-pointers in a game for the first time since Nov. 23 (Jackson State).

Williams scored eight points and tied a career-high with 11 rebounds.

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.

Next up: Chippewas

Matchup: Michigan (7-4) vs. Central Michigan (4-8).

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Dec. 30; Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.

TV/radio: TV TBA; WWJ-AM (950).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball falls to North Carolina, 80-76, in Charlotte