Morez Johnson Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 1 Michigan pulled away for a 101-80 win over No. 16 Howard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region on Thursday night in Buffalo, N.Y.
Aday Mara added 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting for Michigan (32-3), which advanced to the second round for the second season in a row. Mara chipped in seven rebounds and six assists, Nimari Burnett finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting and Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 14 points (6 for 7) off the bench.
“We stayed the course,” Wolverines coach Dusty May said of his team playing better after leading by just four points at halftime. “We thought we took a haymaker from them in the first half, and our guys never played scared. They never played tight. They just continued to get to the next possession and found a way to separate in the second half.”
Bryce Harris and Cam Gillus scored 21 points apiece to lead Howard (24-11). Cedric Taylor III finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
The Wolverines shot 67.3% on the night (37 of 55) and outscored Howard 51-34 in the second half to secure the victory.
Michigan will face No. 9 Saint Louis on Saturday. The Billikens defeated No. 8 Georgia 102-77 on Thursday.
A 12-1 run in the second half gave Michigan a double-digit lead for good.
Gillus made a layup to trim Howard’s deficit to 65-58 with 15:22 remaining. Elliot Cadeau buried a 3-pointer on the next possession, which started the Wolverines’ run. Yaxel Lendeborg added a layup before Johnson made a dunk, Lendeborg made two free throws and Gayle knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 77-59 with 12:35 to go.
Michigan held on to a 50-46 lead at the half.
The Wolverines seized an 11-point lead with 57 seconds to go before the break. Will Tschetter drove toward the rim and dished a pass to Nimari Burnett, who weaved between defenders to make a layup as he was fouled. Burnett made the free throw to complete a three-point play and give Michigan a 50-39 edge.
But Howard scored the final seven points of the first half. Gillus converted a four-point play when he knocked down a 3-pointer, drew a foul and made the free throw to cut the Bison’s deficit to 50-43 with 31 seconds remaining in the half.
Harris punctuated Howard’s frenzied first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Bison defender Ose Okojie made a steal seconds earlier to set up a chance for Harris’ late shot.
–Field Level Media
