Michigan and UCLA both struggled in the first half, the Wolverines to shoot and the Bruins to protect the ball. U-M rallied to pull out a 78-69 win in overtime.
U-M fell behind early and played catch-up for most of the first half. Zavier Simpson gave the Wolverines a shot in the arm. His triple cut a 9-5 lead to 9-8 at 15:50, but the Wolverines struggled to find their groove offensively. They made only four of their first 14 shots to UCLA’s 7-of-11 in falling behind 16-10.
They finally mounted a run behind senior Moritz Wagner. He scored inside three times and the Bruins turned it over five times in a 4:38 stretch … it was tied at 18 at 7:58.
Big man Thomas Welsh heated up for the Bruins. He scored five straight, including a triple, to put UCLA back up four before fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson finally ended the drought with a cut and finish inside.
It was 25-21 at 3:30 after another jumper by Welsh. The Wolverines were shooting 32.1 percent from the floor at that point, 2-for-12 from long range (16.7), but were still in it thanks to 12 UCLA turnovers.
Wagner’s triple from the top out of the TV timeout cut the deficit to one.
UCLA went up five against before freshman point guard Eli Brooks cut it to 29-27 with a triple from the top at 1:10. It ended 30-27 after a free throw from point guard Aaron Holiday.
Welsh and Holiday combined for 22 of the Bruins’ points at the break, at which point it was 30-27 UCLA. Wagner scored 11 for U-M and redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews was next with four, though he played only eight minutes after picking up two fouls.
The Wolverines shot 33.7 percent from the floor, 26.7 from three-point range and only 25 percent from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF
Welsh opened the second half scoring with a triple that gave the Bruins their biggest lead, 33-27. It went to eight on the next possession, and up to 10 when Kris Wilkes scored inside to make it 42-31 at 16:05. The Wolverines were in trouble.
They fell behind by 12 at the 15-minute mark after starting the second half one-for-6 from the floor. It was a 15-point game when Holiday nailed a triple from the top.
Matthews finally answered when Livers found him at the top of the key for three following an offensive rebound. He made one of three free throws on U-M’s next possession and scored inside on the following to cut it to nine. His drive and finish made it 46-39 Bruins at 12:28.
U-M continued to struggle to shoot. The Wolverines were at 18-for-51 and 5-for-23 at 7:15, trailing 52-45. Robinson was 0-for-4 from long range, while Matthews was only 1-of-5 from the free throw line.
Wagner then missed two freebies at 6:50, at which point U-M was down nine and the Wolverines were 4-of-13 from the line.
Fifth-year senior Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahmkan finally hit a triple, only his second in six attempts, and a steal by Wagner and finish at the other end cut it to 54-50 at 5:37, forcing a UCLA timeout.
Holiday quickly ended the run with a drive and finish, but Wagner hit a triple at the other end. Holiday answered again with a jumper off the glass, but Brooks drove and finished to cut it back to three — Holiday responded with two free throws in the bonus.
Wagner hit another three from the top to cut the deficit to 60-58 at the four-minute mark. Robinson had a chance to give U-M the lead, but his long three went in and out. Welsh then hit two free throws to push the lead back to four ... Simpson answered with a drive and prayer off the glass.
An unforced double dribble by Simpson cost a shot at tie, and Welsh scored inside to push the lead back to four. Matthews missed yet another free throw, this time the front end of a one-and-one.
Matthews made only one of two the next time down, and UCLA led by three with 43 seconds remaining.
Simpson, though stole a pass from Holiday and finished to cut it to one with 18.4 seconds remaining.
George Goloman made one of two free throws for the Bruins. Brooks then got fouled and made two free throws to tie it with 10.9 seconds remaining, and it went to overtime when a desperation three missed at the other end.
OVERTIME
Matthews found Simpson for a triple from the top to start the overtime session, giving U-M its first lead since 19-18. Matthews then hit another from the corner with four minutes remaining to push the lead to six. Matthews, though, missed two more free shows, and Goloman cut it to four with a dunk.
Wagner's drive and finish pushed it back to six at 3:00. Matthews' Jumper made it 75-67, and UCLA was on the ropes.
Holiday drove and finished, but Simpson's hard cut and finish at the buzzer pushed it back to eight. A steal at the other end forced UCLA to foul, and Simpson made one of two free throws. The Bruins missed on the other end and Michigan won, 78-69.
Wagner led Michigan with 23 points and Matthews added 20. Simpson, though, was the hero, notching 15 and locking up Holiday in the second half. He notched four of U-M's 12 steals.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
