No. 1 Michigan defeated No. 16 Howard 101-80 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region on Thursday night. The game was held in Buffalo, N.Y.
Morez Johnson Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Michigan. Aday Mara added 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Nimari Burnett finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 14 points off the bench, going 6 for 7.
Wolverines’ Second-Half Surge
Michigan coach Dusty May said his team ‘stayed the course’ after leading by just four points at halftime. He added, ‘We thought we took a haymaker from them in the first half, and our guys never played scared. They never played tight. They just continued to get to the next possession and found a way to separate in the second half.’
The Wolverines outscored Howard 51-34 in the second half. Michigan shot 67.3% on the night, making 37 of 55 attempts.
Bryce Harris and Cam Gillus each scored 21 points for Howard. Cedric Taylor III finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Key Run Seals the Win
A 12-1 run in the second half gave Michigan a double-digit lead for good.
Gillus made a layup to trim Howard’s deficit to 65-58 with 15:22 remaining. Elliot Cadeau then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession, starting the Wolverines’ run. Yaxel Lendeborg added a layup before Johnson made a dunk, Lendeborg made two free throws and Gayle knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 77-59 with 12:35 to go.
First-Half Action
Michigan held on to a 50-46 lead at the half.
The Wolverines seized an 11-point lead with 57 seconds to go before the break. Will Tschetter drove toward the rim and dished a pass to Nimari Burnett, who weaved between defenders to make a layup as he was fouled. Burnett made the free throw to complete a three-point play and give Michigan a 50-39 edge.
Howard scored the final seven points of the first half. Gillus converted a four-point play when he knocked down a 3-pointer, drew a foul and made the free throw to cut the Bison’s deficit to 50-43 with 31 seconds remaining in the half.
Harris punctuated Howard’s frenzied first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Bison defender Ose Okojie made a steal seconds earlier to set up a chance for Harris’ late shot.
Michigan (32-3) advanced to the second round for the second season in a row and will face No. 9 Saint Louis on Saturday. The Billikens defeated No. 8 Georgia 102-77 on Thursday.