Michigan
2-0
Holy Cross
1-1
Brazdeikis' Second-Half Performance Leads Michigan to Victory over Holy Cross
11/10/2018 11:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan outscored Holy Cross 38-13 in the second half of play to earn a 56-37 victory over Holy Cross.
» Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis scored 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half to ignite the Wolverines.
» The Wolverines tallied nine block, five of which came from junior Jon Teske.
» Michigan will be back in action Wednesday (Nov. 14) at Villanova in a rematch of last season's national championship game.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #19/18 Michigan 56, Holy Cross 37
Records: U-M (1-0), HC (1-0)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Nov. 14 -- at Villanova (Villanova, Pa.), 6:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis scored 15 points to start the second half which helped spark the University of Michigan men's basketball team to a 56-37 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday night (Nov. 10) inside Crisler Center.
As a team, U-M netted 38 points in the second half and kept the Crusaders to just 13. The Wolverines shot 50 percent (13-for-26) and were 84 percent (17-for-21) from the charity stripe in the second half.
Brazdeikis paced the Wolverine offense with a career-high 19 points, and collected seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. The freshman came out of the locker room after halftime and scored 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half to give Michigan its second lead of the game. Senior Charles Matthews scored 20 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Zavier Simpson dished out seven assists and had four rebounds.
Michigan forced 16 turnovers, including multiple shot-clock violations against Holy Cross. Sophomore Isaiah Livers led the Wolverines in rebounds with 10 rebounds, three of which were offensive. Junior Jon Teske blocked five shots, while sophomore Jordan Poole and Livers each had two to bring the team total to nine.
After a slow start for both teams, it was the Crusaders who would go on a 13-0 run over a span of 3:22 to take an 18-9 lead and cause the Wolverines to take a timeout at the 11:11 mark of the first half. After the timeout, Poole hit a jumper to end the Holy Cross run and brought U-M within seven, at 18-11.
The Wolverine defense stepped up in the first half, as it forced six turnovers -- including two shot clock violations -- and Eli Brooks took a charge on the defensive end of the court. The Wolverines were unable to overcome the slight deficit in the first half as they trailed, 24-18, heading into the locker room.
The U-M offense came out firing in the second half. In addition to Brazdeikis' early offensive outburst, Michigan got three points from Teske to put Michigan ahead 34-30 heading into the first break. Following two timeouts, the Wolverine scoring continued as it capped off a 20-6 scoring run to go up by 10, 40-30, with 11:50 remaining.
Michigan did not let the Crusaders back in the contest, as it closed out the game on an 8-0 scoring run over the final three minutes.
The Wolverines will travel for the first time this season when they head to Villanova, Pennsylvania, for a national championship rematch against Villanova on Wednesday (Nov. 14). Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on FS1.
