by TYLER HATHAWAY
BUFFALO, N.Y– Leading by six with under 15 minutes to go in the second half, top-seeded Michigan outscored Saint Louis 34-17 over the final 15 minutes to pull away and win 95-72 over the No. 9 seed Billikens in the Midwest Region Second Round at KeyBank Center on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m glad that we’re able to extend the season with this group,” said Michigan head coach Dusty May. “I may coach another 30 years, and might not ever be around a better group of people, a more connected group. We’re cherishing that every single day.”
Yaxel Lendeborg led the charge offensively for the Wolverines, scoring 13 points over the deciding stretch of the second half and finishing with 25 points, six rebounds, and a block.
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“I just started feeling a lot more comfortable and a lot more aggressive just because of how the team had been playing,” said Lendeborg of his second half play. “I thrive off of the team’s energy, and I just got opportunities to make plays.”
“He’s special,” May said of his star. “Special player, special person. To see him grow, and how great of a teammate he is for the situation he’s in is even more impressive.”
“Dominican Lebron”, as Lendeborg’s teammates call him, had a huge slam at the beginning of the stretch that helped provide a spark to the rest of the team.
“It gave us another boost to try and extend the lead, and have good defensive intensity,” said forward Nimari Burnett.
Michigan led 48-39 at halftime before Saint Louis got hot from the three-point line. The Billikens knocked down four three-pointers and scored 16 points in the first four minutes to make it 61-55 in a flash.
“They made four difficult threes,” said May. “When you have a 7’4 center that blocks everything at the rim, you’re going to give up some contested threes to the other team’s center whos like a point guard. I think there was a couple times we didn’t execute our late switches.”
“Fortunately we were able to adjust on the fly and force some tougher shots.”
Elliot Cadeau helped the offense get going early as Michigan overcome a four-point hole midway through the first half. He had 12 points and three assists in the first 20 minutes.
“He makes it so much easier for us all of us,” Burnett said of his point guard. “I’m joyful to play with him every single day.”
“He does a great job at controlling the tempo and bringing instant offense whatever we need it,” said Lendeborg.
Michigan averaged 98 points per game in Buffalo this weekend.
“We’ve just been patient on offense,” said Cadeau. “We felt we could get anything we wanted to, and we didn’t have to make any forced plays, because we could just hit singles and score every time.”
Aday Mara had 16 points, five rebounds and four blocks. Morez Johnson Jr. paired 15 points with eight rebounds. Burnett finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Amari McCottry led Saint Louis with 14 points. The loss ends a season that included the first tournament win in over a decade for the Billikens.
“So proud of my team,” said head coach Josh Schertz. “Not the result we wanted, but they (his players) fought tooth and nail for the entire 40 minutes. We gave everything we had.”
The win advances the Wolverines into the Sweet 16 for the second season in a row. They will face the winner of No. 4 seed Alabama and No. 5 seed Texas Tech. Michigan fell to No. 1 seed Auburn in the round last year.
“I think the little bit of the difference is we’ve just been so connected,” said Burnett of what separates them this year. “This year with this group, our size, our image, and our speed. We’re ready going into Chicago.”
“We’ve earned the right to go to Chicago,” said May. “Hopefully we can pack that arena with Michigan fans and see where it goes. I think we’re just a better team, we’re better coaches, we’re better players. That’s just part of the growth process.”
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