By Hawk Fanatic

There is no reward for refusing to wilt under the weight of a double-digit deficit on the road.

Because a loss is a loss regardless of the circumstance.

But there something to be said for how the Iowa men’s basketball team loss to Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Fran McCaffery’s squad fought and competed until the very end, erasing double-digit deficits in both halves before ultimately falling 85-83 at Crisler Arena.

Sophomore forward Pryce Sandford missed a 3-point shot from the baseline right before time expired that could have won the game.

Graduate guard Drew Thelwell threw the inbound pass across the court to Pryce Sandfort in the near corner near the baseline with 1.1 seconds left to play. Pryce Sandfort barely had enough time to shoot with a defender draped all over him.

His shot fell short, as did his team.

“I was able to come down with and it didn’t go in,” Pryce Sandfort on the Learfield post-game radio show. “It was a great pass and we’re not in that position if I don’t get driven on and scored on.

“So, I’ve got take responsibility for that and get better.”

Pryce Sandfort was referring to Roddy Gayle Jr.’s basket on a goal-tending call with 3 seconds remaining in which Gayle drove to the hoop.

However, in fairness to Pryce Sandfort, Iowa wouldn’t have been in a position to win without his contributions off the bench.

The sophomore forward from Waukee scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.

Pryce Sandfort’s older brother, Payton Sandfort, led four Iowa in players in double figures with 19 points, including 16 in the second half as he rediscovered his shooting touch, making two huge 3-point baskets in the final two minutes.

The second of those two 3s evened the score at 83 with 20 seconds left to play.

Junior guard Josh Dix also scored 16 points, while sophomore forward Owen Freeman finished with 13 points despite only playing two minutes in the first half due to picking up two early fouls.

Iowa was coming off a dramatic 80-79 win over Northwestern this past Tuesday in Iowa City City as Josh Dix made a three from 33 feet right before time expired.

Northwestern had erased a 17-point first-half deficit, while Iowa erased a 16-point first-half deficit in Saturday’s game at Michigan.

“I thought they jumped us and we struggled to shoot the ball early,” Fran McCaffery said on the Learfield post-game radio show. “I thought, quite honestly, our shot selection was pretty good. We had good shooters shooting good shots. They didn’t go and we get down (20-4) on the road. The place is packed.

“We kept our composure and fought back in it. Had some serious foul trouble in the first half.”

Both teams made runs in the second half, and Fran McCaffery wasn’t pleased with some of the shots that his team took during a Michigan spurt in the second half.

“We had that one stretch, they went on a little bit of a run and our shot selection went south,” Fran McCaffery said. “It was a problem. We were quick shooting the ball. They weren’t horrible shots. But we didn’t work the ball. We didn’t drive the ball . We didn’t make them play defense.”

Iowa still closed the game on a 20-11 scoring run after trailing 74-63 with seven minutes left to play.

“I loved our team fight,” Pryce Sandfort said. “It just shows what this team is about.”

Iowa only trailed 40-37 at halftime despite Freeman playing just two minutes before going to the bench for the rest of the half with two fouls, despite Payton Sandfort missing all nine of his field-goal attempts, and despite point guard Brock Harding only playing seven minutes after also picking up two early fouls.

Michigan bolted to a 20-4 lead, but then Iowa picked up its defensive intensity and started frustrating the Wolverines with a half-court press that would help to cause 11 Michigan turnovers in the first half.

Iowa, on the other hand, only had two turnovers in the first half.

Thelwell and Pryce Sandfort led Iowa in scoring off the bench in the first Half with 10 points apiece.

Iowa’s bench accounted for 23 of its 37 points in the first half.

Fran McCaffery had to go deep into his bench in the first half as senior center Riley Mulvey played seven minutes, grabbed two rebounds and made one free throw while freshman forward Chris Tadjo both played three minutes made his only field-goal attempt and had two rebounds.

“Those guys came in and provided some offense when our offense was sputtering,” Fran McCaffery ssid of his reserves. “But again, it was all ball movement, execution by those guys.”

Freeman made the first basket in the second half as Fran McCaffery immediately fed him in the post.

Payton Sandfort finally made his first shot on his 10^th attempt in the game, cutting the deficit to 42-41early in the second half.

Iowa took a 45-44 lead on a basket by Josh Dix and the score would remain close until Michigan created some separation with an 11-3 scoring run midway through the second half. Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle Jr. to give Michigan a 74-63 with 7:16 left to play.

Fran McCaffery called a timeout after Gayle’s basket to regroup.

Whatever was said during the timeout seems to have worked as Iowa would go on to erase the 11-point deficit, only to fall short in the end.