Michigan overcame a rough second half and rallied late to beat the UC San Diego Tritons, 68-65, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but a pair of Vlad Goldin free throws late in the game secured the win for Michigan.
To open the first half, UC San Diego looked to have the talent level of a collection of middle schoolers. The Tritons couldn't were unable to score in the game's first five minutes, while the height and length of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf gave UC San Diego fits.
Michigan held a comfortable lead for most of the first half, and the Wolverines enjoyed a 14-point lead as the teams broke for halftime. The Tritons struggled to figure out Michigan's size and strength for the entirety of the first half, and the Wolverines clearly were the better team in the first 20 minutes.
But in the second half, the script flipped quickly. By the under-16 media timeout of the second half, UC San Diego outscored Michigan by 11 points and cut the deficit to three points.
From that point on, Michigan failed to stretch the lead beyond what it had at halftime. Both teams went on their own respective runs, but UC San Diego, despite Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones fouling out with 6:57 left to go in the game, continued to fight.
With 3:05 left in the game, UC San Diego tied the contest for the first time of the night. Then, on the next offensive possession, the Tritons took their first lead of the evening.
What once was a very comfortable Michigan lead was now completely gone, and the Wolverines were on the verge of having their season end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
But a clutch 3-pointer from Tre Donaldson with 2:13 left and a pair of Vlad Goldin free throws with 20 seconds left gave Michigan a three-point lead. UC San Diego came up short on its last offensive possession of the game, and the Wolverines escaped with a three-point win.
Vlad Goldin led Michigan in scoring with 14 points, while Tre Donaldson and Roddy Gayle Jr. added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
With the win, Michigan advances to 26-9 overall on the season, and it will advance to the Round of 32, where it will take on 4-seed Texas A&M. Saturday's game between the Wolverines and Aggies will take place at approximately 5:15 p.m. ET and air on CBS.
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