Michigan squandered an early 13-point lead, Robert Traylor struggled to find the net from underneath the basket and the Wolverines continued their sloppy ball handling.
Nevertheless, Michigan improved to 4-1 with a 71-62 victory over Florida International (3-2) last night at Crisler Arena, thanks to a 23-point effort from Maceo Baston - Michigan's Mr. Consistency this season - and key contributions from freshmen Josh Asselin and Brandon Smith.
On a night when the Wolverines looked like they might finally blow out an inferior opponent, a 13-point Michigan lead with 12:55 left in the first half turned into a 27-26 halftime deficit.
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| WARREN ZINN/Daily Raja Bell beats Michigan Center Robert Traylor to a rebound in the first half of Michigan's 71-62 victory over the Golden Panthers at Crisler Arena last night. |
"We played well in spurts," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "But we couldn't find consistency in our game."
While the Wolverines struggle to find stability as a team, guard Louis Bullock - who accounted for two of Michigan's treys in the second half after missing all four of his first half field goal attempts - is gaining momentum. Bullock has now made 6 of 11 3-point attempts since missing his first 13 of the season.
It was Baston, Asselin and Smith, however, who won the game for the Wolverines. Baston pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with his game-high 23 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Asselin and Smith sparked the Wolverines with several big plays, combining for 17 points and eight boards.
Although Michigan pulled away late in the game, it was a missed shot by Traylor in the second half that symbolized the Wolverines' poor decision making this season. With the Golden Panthers, and most of the 11,236 in attendance, daring Traylor to take an uncontested jump shot from the foul line, the co-captain hesitated for what seemed like an eternity, before throwing up a brick.
"It was a mental mistake," Ellerbe said of Traylor's decision to shoot. "It's just like any other mental mistake - we have to cut them out at the end of the games."
Similar mistakes could be costly for the Wolverines as the quality of competition improves. The Wolverines' next three games are against UNLV, Eastern Michigan and Duke.
"Making mental mistakes - we've got to learn," said Conlan, who played in his second game since coming back from a wrist injury. "Now it's for real. We're playing big-name teams now."
For a change, Michigan actually turned the ball over fewer times than its opponent. But the Wolverines committed several of their 17 giveaways - against 18 by the Panthers - at the most inopportune times. Those turnovers, combined with a Michigan scoring drought late in the first half, allowed the Panthers back into the game.
With the Wolverines leading 21-13 midway through the first half, the Panthers capitalized on a poor pass by Traylor, intercepting the ball and scoring on Raja Bell's tip-in. Then, after Bullock airballed a 3-pointer, Darius Cook drove the lane on the other end of the court and scored to cut the Michigan lead to 21-17. The Wolverines turned the ball over on their next two possessions, and a Damien McKnight 3-pointer soon after brought the Panthers to within 22-20.
Michigan stretched the lead back to six, but the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to end the half, including five points from Derkack, to take a 27-26 lead.
Early in the game, matters hadn't been that close, however. The Wolverines jumped out to an 8-2 lead as the Golden Panthers, known for their defensive pressure, surprised everyone by starting without a press.
"We wanted to pressure the two guards, Reid and Bullock, but we decided to gamble and let (Michigan forward Jerod) Ward shoot from outside," International coach Shakey Rodriguez said. "If he were hitting his shots early, we would've been in trouble."
Ward, the Wolverines' second-leading scorer coming into the game, went one for eight from the field.
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