Michigan 78, Texas 72: Wolverines win finale in Bahamas
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — It took Aubrey Dawkins less than a minute to make a three-pointer on Friday, and it took the rest of the Wolverines a single half to make 10 more in their 78-72 win over Texas.
Michigan took a 12-point lead at halftime on the heels of 11-for-17 shooting from beyond the arc, and held onto that advantage for dear life as it eked out a win in its third game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
“Eleven (threes) in the first half is way, way too many,” said Texas coach Shaka Smart. “They made some extra passes, they shot-faked, and we just didn’t do a good job of getting shooters.”
The Wolverines (4-2) finished 14-for-25 from beyond the arc en route to victory and a fifth-place finish at the Battle 4 Atlantis. They finished the tournament with a 2-1 record after losing to Connecticut on Wednesday, defeating Charlotte on Thursday and coming out of the gate strong to beat the Longhorns in the finale.
The first-half lead didn’t stay secure after the early scoring flurry. Texas cut Michigan’s advantage to four points with nine minutes left in the second half, and used a full-court press in the game’s final six minutes to disrupt the Wolverines’ offense, forcing multiple Michigan turnovers to whittle the deficit to one. But a late string of baskets from Caris LeVert, who finished with 19 points, preserved the Wolverines’ lead.
“Caris, obviously, was Caris all the way through,” said Michigan coach John Beilein.
Beilein also pointed to the performances of Duncan Robinson, who shot 4-for-5 from three-point range, and Derrick Walton Jr., who finished with 13 points, seven assists and three steals, as major factors in the win.
Michigan’s big men also played well despite facing a substantial size disadvantage and constant foul trouble. Beilein started Ricky Doyle at center and used German freshman Moritz Wagner as the first big man off the bench for the third straight game. Doyle sat for much of the first half with two personal fouls, forcing D.J. Wilson and Mark Donnal, along with Wagner, into frequent action.
“That’s why we’ve got so many of those big dudes,” Beilein said. “So that we can do that.”
Michigan out-rebounded Texas, 31-27, anyway. As it did in the teams’ 2014 NCAA tournament matchup, shooting trumped size, and the Wolverines left Imperial Arena as victors.
