Michigan
6-2
Houston Baptist
2-6
Early Second-Half Run Pushes Michigan Past Houston Baptist
12/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2015
» Caris LeVert (25), Duncan Robinson (19) and Aubrey Dawkins (16) combined for 60 of Michigan's 82 points.
» Duncan Robinson hit five straight triples without a miss, four of which came in the second half.
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| Highlights 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 82, Houston Baptist 57
Records: U-M (6-2), HBU (2-6)
Attendance: 11,399
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Dec. 8 -- at SMU (Dallas, Texas), 9 p.m. [ ESPN2 ]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team cruised past the Houston Baptist Huskies, 82-57, on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 5) inside Crisler Center. After taking a nine-point, 37-28 lead into the break, the Wolverines used a 21-4 scoring run and lockdown defense in the second half to coast to a blowout win.
With 10 minutes remaining in the game, sophomore forward Kameron Chatman found junior/sophomore guard Duncan Robinson cutting to the hoop with a beautiful backdoor pass, and the guard finished off the glass with a reverse layup. Two minutes later, senior guard Caris LeVert drove through the lane and scored, absorbing contact from his defender to draw a foul in the process. He hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play, putting the Wolverines up 63-42.
On the next possession, sophomore guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman penetrated inside, spinning past a defender to score off the glass, making the score 65-44. Later, sophomore guard Aubrey Dawkins hit a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to put Michigan up 20, 75-55.
With less than a minute to play, senior guard Spike Albrecht tapped a loose ball behind his head at half court to sophomore/freshman D.J. Wilson, and the high-flying forward put an exclamation point on the game with a thunderous fast-break slam. Dawkins capped the scoring with three seconds remaining, knocking down his third three-pointer of the game to make the score 82-57, Michigan's largest advantage of the night.
The Wolverines finished with three players in double figures. LeVert finished with 25 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting, Robinson had 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown, and Dawkins added 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. LeVert, Robinson and Dawkins combined for 60 of Michigan's 82 points. Robinson scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, connecting on five-consecutive triples after starting the game 0-of-4 from downtown. Anthony Odunsi led the way for Houston Baptist with 15 points.
The Wolverines began the game on an 11-0 scoring run, hitting four of their first five shots. LeVert got the scoring started with a tough finish off the glass inside and a three-pointer on the next possession. Dawkins added a pull-up jumper and a pair of free throws, before Abdur-Rahkman capped the run with a jumper.
Wilson extended Michigan's lead to 17-6 with 12:39, elevating over a defender to knock down a fade-away bank shot. Two minutes later, LeVert threw down a dunk in transition to give the Wolverines their largest lead of the half, 21-8.
Houston Baptist then cut the lead to just two, 26-24, with 5:36 to play in the half.
LeVert answered for Michigan, knocking down a wide-open three in the corner to put the Wolverines up five. Michigan turned good defense into offense on Houston Baptist's next possession. Robinson blocked a shot and the loose ball fell to freshman forward Moritz Wagner, who found LeVert with the outlet. LeVert pushed it up court to Abdur-Rahkman, and the guard dished back to Robinson, who completed the play with a layup. After the Huskies missed on the other end, Robinson hit-nothing-but net with a spot-up three to give the Wolverines a 10-point advantage, 34-24.
In total, Michigan ended the half on an 11-4 run, capped by a fall-away three-pointer in the corner from Irvin to beat the shot clock, giving the Wolverines a 37-28 lead at the break. Michigan shot 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) from the field in the first half. Houston Baptist shot 11-of-24 (45.8 percent), including 4-of-5 (80 percent) from long range. LeVert led all scorers at the intermission with 14 points.
The Wolverines began to take control early in the second half, thanks to hot shooting from Robinson. After HBU's Josh Ibarra finished inside, cutting the U-M lead to 37-30, Robinson hit nothing-but-net with a corner long ball to put Michigan up 10. The Huskies turned the ball over at the other end, and Robinson hit another three-pointer, this time in the opposite corner off a feed from Irvin.
LeVert hit a pair of free throws, and Irvin added a layup to extend the Wolverines' advantage to 13 points, then Robinson connected from way downtown to give Michigan a 50-34 lead. The sharpshooter hit from the corner again two minutes later for his fifth consecutive three-pointer without a miss, making the score 58-34 with 11:24 to play. Robinson's three-point display was part of a 21-4 Michigan scoring barrage over the course of seven minutes.
The Wolverines shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the floor, including 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from behind the arc. Houston Baptist finished 22-of-51 (43.1 percent) on the afternoon, including 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Michigan had a 33-29 advantage on the glass and committed just six turnovers to the Huskies' 16. The Wolverines took the lead 48 seconds into the contest and never trailed.
U-M will hit the road for a matchup with Southern Methodist on Tuesday night (Dec. 8) at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m., and coverage can be found on ESPN2.
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Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
