Michigan Basketball Hammers Gonzaga, Wins Battle For Atlantis
Michigan got off to a slow start against Gonzaga, like they have in every game in the Battle for Atlantis. The Wolverines responded like they have in each game in the Bahamas, blowing the doors off a top 10 team for the second time in two days.
Gonzaga was the victim this time, falling 82-64.
U-M started picking it up at the 14-minute mark, and junior forward Isaiah Livers tied the game at 12 at 12:56 with a triple on his first shot. Senior Zavier Simpson gave U-M its first lead at 14-12 with his second running hook, and Livers pushed the lead to 17-12 with his second triple.
Michigan was off and running and wouldn’t trail again.
Freshman wing Franz Wagner got off to a slow start, but he picked it up by attacking the rim. He finished two drives in the first 10 minutes to contribute to U-M’s run. Livers’ drive and finish at the 9:00 mark put the Wolverines up 23-16 and forced a Bulldogs timeout.
Gonzaga responded with four straight points out of the timeout, but sophomore David DeJulius answered with a long triple.
Eli Brooks’ jumper off the dribble made it 30-23 Wolverines, and head coach Juwan Howard went with a lineup of Brooks, sophomore big man Colin Castleton, sophomore guard Adrien Nunez, Wagner and sophomore guard David DeJulius, and they didn’t miss a beat. They expanded the lead to 34-23 at the 50-second mark after a Teske putback, even with the Wolverines missing three straight free throws.
Teske’s tip-in at the buzzer made it 36-25 Wolverines at the break.
Gonzaga went inside early in the second half to score four quick points, cutting the lead to seven, and made it five on a pair of free throws. U-M missed its first three shots to open the door, and the Bulldogs took advantage. They went on an 8-0 run but missed a potential tying three before Teske ended the run at 15:45 with a free throw line jumper to make it 38-33.
U-M got its offensive mojo back in a hurry. Wagner got fouled and made two free throws and Simpson tripled from the top of the key to push the lead back to nine. Wagner answered a Bulldogs putback with yet another drive and finish, and Livers gave Michigan its biggest lead and forced a Zags timeout with a triple from the corner.
Michigan had withstood the Bulldogs’ barrage and countered out of the corner. Simpson landed another blow with a left cross and hook shot off the glass, a new one to his arsenal.
A putback dunk by Teske and a DeJulius triple opened it up, and U-M took its biggest lead on a Livers pull-up jumper, putting the Wolverines up by 19. DeJulius answered a Gonzaga triple with another of his own, and the Wolverines were in great shape heading down the stretch.
The Zags continued to fight, but every time they scored, U-M had an answer. Brooks answered four straight Bulldogs points with yet another U-M triple from the corner, Michigan’s ninth make in 17 attempts.
Gonzaga made yet another run, cutting it to 65-54 on a bucket inside by former U-M recruit Drew Timme, but the Wolverines answered again. Simpson found Teske inside for the dunk, Brooks hit another three and another pair of triples from Livers made it 76-57 at 4:23, forcing one more Zags timeout.
True frosh guard Cole Bajema added the exclamation point with a running hook shot in the lane to finish it.
Livers finished with 21 points to lead U-M, which shot 54 percent for the game. Teske added 19 and 15 rebounds, Simpson 13 and Wagner 10 to lead the Wolverines to the tournament championship.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook