BY DYLAN O’LOUGHLIN
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In a day full of upsets, the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines were almost another victim of the Madness in March.
“We thought we took a haymaker from them in the first half and our guys never played scared,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said. “They never played tight, they just continued to get to the next possesion and found a way to sepearate in the second half.”
A lot of that was thanks to Morez Johnson Jr, who netted 17 of his game-high 21 points in the final 20 minutes as the Wolverines outscored Howard 51-34 to pull away with a 101-80 victory. It’s the first time in tournament history that a team has scored 100 or more points in the first round at KeyBank Center.
Up four coming out of halftime after a buzzer beater three-pointer by Howard’s Bryce Harris, Michigan scored on 10 of its next 11 possessions as Johnson Jr led the way with 14 points in the opening eight minutes of the half. The sophomore also hauled in 10 rebounds for a double-double and with the run, the Wolverines took a 77-59 lead it did not relinquish.
“We talked about getting stops and playing our basketball,” Johnson Jr said. “Knowing that they hit that big shot going into halftime, we can’t hang our heads on it. We’ve got to keep playing basketball. I wasn’t trying to force anything, the ball was just coming to me. My teammates were putting me in the right spot.”
After a few mor back and forth buckets from both sides, Michigan sat with an 81-65 lead with under 10 minutes to go in regulation. The Wolverines then put together a 17-2 run over five minutes to pull away with the victory.
“These games are tricky as we saw earlier with Duke and Sienna,” May explained about the Blue Devils narrow 71-65 victory over No. 16 Sienna. “We have a lot of respect for Howard. Everyone that’s a fan of David versus Goliath, knows it wasn’t necessarily an upset because there’s a slingshot involved. In the first half, Howard had their slingshots out.”
The first half was a high-scoring affair with both teams shooting 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc. Howard shot 10-16 from three-point land in the opening 20 as Cam Gillus went 4-4 from three-point land, Cedric Taylor went 5-8 overall while shooting 3-5 from three and Harris knocked down two triples on three attempts. The trio combined for 39 of the Bisons’ 46 first half points.
Despite the efficient scoring from Howard, Michigan matched it. Eight different Wolverines put points on the board in the first half with Nimari Burnett leading the way with 10 and Buffalo-native Roddy Gayle Jr following with nine points off the bench on 100 percent (4-4) shooting from the field.
On the night, the senior from Lewiston-Porter finished with 14 points while shooting 6-7 from the field and 2-3 from downtown.
“It means a lot, especially seeing behind our bench the type of love and support that came to tonight’s game,” Gayle Jr said. “My first time playing in front of many of those people, family and friends, it was just a great feeling to be here and play hard with my teammates.”
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The Wolverines also picked up their defensive intensity in the second half. After causing just three turnovers and allowing 46 points, Michigan locked down in the final 20 minutes. The Wolverines accumulated nine forced turnovers for 14 points, along with six of their eight blocks and allowing only 18 points in the paint over the 40 minutes.
“We were able to control the matchups a little bit better because we were scoring,” May said on Michigan’s second half defense. “But the thing I noticed, I told the guys after the game that I heard their shoes squeaking on the other end a lot more than I did in the first half. I thought our communication was better and our intensity improve.”
With the win, Michigan improves to 32-3 on the year and advance to the second round of March Madness in back-to-back years. To go along with Johnson Jr’s perfect scoring night (8-8/1-1) and Gayle Jr’s 14, Aday Mara finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks while Burnett poured in 15 points with four boards and two assists. Trey McKenney reached double-figures with 10 points while Yaxel Lendeborg followed with nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
For Howard, Harris and Gillus led the way with 21 points apiece while Taylor posted 19 points and six rebounds. Ose Okojie and Travelle Bryson chipped in seven points each as well.
Despite the loss, Howard still made history. On Tuesday in the First Four, the Bisons earned their first ever tournament victory with an 86-83 win against UMBC. To go along with that, it is the third time in four seasons under head coach Kenneth Blakeney that Howard has reached the big dance.
“The experience has been great, it’s my third time being in March Madness and it’s been an exceptional experience ever since my first one. I’ve been through all different types of experiences and the biggest thing that changed for me was once you get more responsibility, taking everybody with you,” Harris explained reflecting on his time at Howard. “The guys did a great job of buying in, It’s been a pleasure working, continuing to carry the torch and understand there’s a standard at this university now and the younger guys got to continue that standard.”
Michigan advances to the second round and takes on the No. 9 St. Louis Billikens on Saturday at KeyBank Center. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
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