Lendeborg, Johnson power Michigan into postseason with sweep of Michigan State

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines stand alone.

In a record-setting campaign that’s featured numerous milestones and program marks, they added another one to the list by becoming the first Big Ten team with 19 conference wins in a season.

No. 3 Michigan achieved the feat by beating No. 8 Michigan State, 90-80, in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Crisler Center and sweeping the home-and-home series in the rivalry for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.

Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. made sure the seniors went out on a historic high note. Lendeborg had 27 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers and Johnson scored 18 for Michigan (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten), which improved to 8-1 against ranked teams this season with five wins over top-10 foes.

Michigan entered the matchup tied for the most Big Ten wins with the 1974-75 and 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, who went a perfect 18-0 well before the conference adopted a 20-game schedule in 2018-19.

Jaxon Kohler had 23 points and eight rebounds, Jeremy Fears Jr. had 22 points and nine assists and Carson Cooper scored 19 for Michigan State (25-6, 15-5), which shot 44.6% from the field, led for under eight minutes and was outscored by a 26-16 margin on free throws.

Following a first half where neither side could separate from the other and ended with Michigan holding a one-point edge, the two rivals continued to go back and forth until the Wolverines pulled away in the final minute.

A 3-pointer by Lendeborg, his fourth of the game, gave Michigan a 49-43 early in the second half before Michigan State eventually countered and knotted it with a four-point possession.

Fears stripped Aday Mara out on the perimeter and Mara fouled Fears by grabbing his right shoulder. The play was ruled a Flagrant 1 following a review. After Fears made two free throws, Kohler hit a short shot to tie it at 51.

That all came during a 13-4 surge for Michigan State that Kohler capped with a 3-pointer for a 56-53 lead with 14:10 to play.

Then after an and-1 lob dunk by Cooper put the Spartans up four, Michigan responded with an 11-0 burst to grab the lead for good. Roddy Gayle Jr. scored twice in the paint. Elliot Cadeau hit a floater. Trey McKenney scored five straight, including a 3-pointer, to put Michigan up, 68-61, with 8:29 to go.

Michigan State made it a one-possession game and cut it to three twice, but Michigan answered both times. First it was Johnson scoring at the rim through contact. Then it was Lendeborg splashing his fifth 3-pointer to make it 76-70 at the 3:31 mark.

The Spartans never got any closer. Lendeborg connected with Johnson for an alley-oop dunk. Then after a stop, Mara threw an outlet pass to Johnson, who was fouled in transition and split two free throws.

The Wolverines sealed it with a four-point possession where Cooper wrapped up Mara and intentionally fouled him. Mara made both free throws and Michigan kept the ball. Gayle was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and made two more foul shots to make it 83-72 with 54 seconds to go. Michigan made seven more free throws to seal it.

Gayle finished with 15 points, McKenney scored 12 and Nimari Burnett had 10 for Michigan, which won the first meeting between the rivals, 83-71, on Jan. 30 in East Lansing. The Wolverines shot 49.1% from the field, made 10 3-pointers and won the rebounding battle by a 35-32 margin.

Michigan State jumped out to a quick lead in a first half that featured a bunch of fouls, including multiple techs, on both sides and swings both ways.

The Spartans scored the first five points and led 7-3 four minutes into the game. The Wolverines missed their first seven shots before Burnett got them on the board with a second-chance 3 at the 16:31 mark.

Michigan used an 11-0 spurt to pull ahead. Lendeborg scored seven points during the run, including a 3-pointer and two free throws after Fears was assessed a dead ball contact technical foul. On the play, Cadeau reached in from behind and fouled Fears while trying to poke the ball away before Fears kicked his right leg backward between Cadeau’s legs.

A driving layup by Gayle capped the spurt and gave Michigan a 14-7 lead at the 13:24 mark. Michigan State snapped the run when Mara was assessed a dead ball contact technical foul for pushing Cooper from behind and shoving him to the court after Gayle’s layup. It proved to be costly, as it ended up being Mara’s second foul and led to two Fears free throws.

Not long after that, McKenney was assessed a Class B technical foul after a fast-break layup for hitting the ball out of Kohler’s hands on the ensuing inbounds. That came during an 11-3 stretch where Michigan extended its lead to 23-14.

The Spartans stormed right back to pull even. Kohler scored three times around the rim, including a three-point play. Kur Teng buried a pair of 3-pointers, with the second knotting it at 27 with 5:58 left in the half.

After Johnson joined Mara on the bench with two fouls, another strong stretch from the Spartans put them in front. Cooper threw down a fast-break dunk off a feed from Fears, who made another 3-pointer. Kohler followed a turnover by Cadeau and a Burnett blocked shot with a hook shot and a deep ball. A 12-2 spurt gave Michigan State a 41-37 advantage at the 1:47 mark.

Michigan regained the lead before halftime. Lendeborg finished his strong half by losing Coen Carr for a driving layup before finding Burnett for a corner 3-pointer and a 42-41 edge at the break.

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