For the second time on Thursday, a 1-seed took the court against a 16-seed, but Michigan basketball certainly hoped that it would be an easier go against Howard than it was for Duke against Siena earlier in the day.
The game in Buffalo opened up with a quick alley-oop to Aday Mara, but the Bison answered. The Wolverines went to the line twice in the early going and scored three of four attempts. Yaxel Lendeborg hit a 3 to push the Michigan lead 8-2. Howard struggled to get much going offensively, but Niagara Falls native Roddy Gayle Jr. drained the second 3 of the game. Nimari Burnett piled on with another, and it was 14-6 with 14:37 remaining in the first half. That would be the score at the under-16 media timeout, with Morez Johnson Jr. set for two free throws after.
Johnson hit both free throws, but Michigan then gave up a 3 to Cedric Taylor III and then promptly turned the ball over — the third of the game. Travelle Bryson hit a 3 after Mara and Gayle made a handful of plays. The Wolverines kept threatening to open up a big lead (getting up to 10), but Cam Gillus hit back-to-back 3s, and it was a 26-20 Michigan lead at the under-12 media timeout.
Both teams struggled to hit coming out of the timeout, and though Taylor hit another 3, Tschetter answered with one of his own. The Wolverines were shooting 61.1% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc, but the Bison were shooting nearly 50% and over 50% from 3. Gillus hit his third, but Tschetter answered with his second. Then Bryce Harris got into the action, draining a 3 to get Howard within five points. The 34-29 lead would be the score entering the under-eight media timeout.
Mara hit one-of-two free throws coming out of the timeout, and Johnson got a dunk to push the lead to eight. Harris hit a midrange jumper as the shot clock expired to cut it back to six, before both teams missed on their respective ends. Then, Burnett hit a 3, his second, and it was a nine-point game. After a Taylor-made shot, with a Cadeau foul, it was a seven-point game with the chance to make it six at the under-four media timeout.
Taylor completed the three-point play, but Trey McKenney drained a 3 on the other end to push it to a nine-point Michigan lead. The teams traded, with the Bison scoring five straight to pull within six again. Burnett completed a three-point play after hitting a free throw on the and-one, but Gillus hit his fourth make from beyond the arc, while being fouled by McKenney — thus making up four points on one possession. Two turnovers meant that Michigan wouldn’t have the last possession, and the Bison hit a buzzer-beating 3 to make it a four-point Wolverines lead at halftime, 50-46. Howard was shooting 62.5% from beyond the arc.
Halftime started with a foul and then a make by Howard to cut it to a two-point game. A make and an and-one by Johnson pushed the lead back to five. Johnson continued to be the early offense for the maize and blue with a layup, but Alex Cotton hit a 3 on the other end. Burnett continued to be the Wolverines’ hot hand, answering with his third make from beyond the arc, himself. Fouled, Howard’s Harris hit one of two free throws to make it a six-point game, but Johnson continued to come alive in the second half, draining a corner 3 to push the Michigan lead to nine. The maize and blue were still shooting well (67%), but the Bison were shooting nearly as well from 3 (65%). The deep shots were the difference, as the Wolverines had a 10-rebound advantage over Howard, all while having only three more turnovers.
By the end of the next stint, the Wolverines had hit 8-of-8, and took an 11-point lead, 70-59. The ninth was Johnson’s sixth make of the half, and the 10th was a 3 by Gayle to push the lead to 18 (Lendeborg hit two free throws in between). The 12-1 run for the maize and blue came to a close when Taylor hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 15. At the under-12 media timeout, that would be the gulf, 77-62.
Michigan turned the ball over on offense and gave up a score on defense, and it was a 13-point advantage. Mara then got his first bucket of the second half. Fouls and free throws on both ends saw the Wolverines get two more points to Howard’s one. After another Mara alley-oop, the maize and blue were back to having an 18-point lead, made 20 after a Johnson dunk, and 22 after a Mara dunk.
The Bison were on a three-minute scoring drought, and the Wolverines were taking full advantage. Another Mara dunk pushed the lead to 24. His next dunk made it a 26-point Michigan lead. The Howard scoring drought was up to four minutes, and McKenney’s layup made it a 93-65 Wolverines lead. When the Bison last scored a field goal, it was 77-64, Michigan. Johnson made one of two free throws to make it a 29-point Wolverines advantage, and then finally, Howard’s Harris scored the first field goal (on a dunk) after having gone over five minutes without. Michigan’s 15-2 run continued with a Gayle field goal, and Burnett returned to his scoring ways coming off of a Tschetter block. Harris hit a 3 to pull within 28 at the under-four media timeout.
Two free throws later, the Bison were within 26, but the Wolverines were putting in reserves who hadn’t seen much time this year, including Oscar Goodman and Malick Kordel. Johnson led the maize and blue with 21 points (having hit every field goal attempt, while also corraling 10 rebounds), Mara had 19, Burnett 15, and Gayle 14. Yaxel Lendeborg had a quiet night with just nine points, four rebounds, and four assists. Michigan beat Howard, 101-80, and will face either Georgia or Saint Louis on Saturday in the Round of 32.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball beats Howard in NCAA Tournament
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