DETROIT – The No. 6-ranked Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team avenged their 2024 loss to Wake Forest following an 85-84 overtime victory inside Little Caesars Arena.
The game was back-and-forth as Michigan, which once led by 13 points, trailed by seven late before tying the game at 77-77 behind a three-pointer by senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr.
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After some back and forth, the game was tied at 80 before Michigan forced a key turnover with 0.07 left.
Head coach Dusty May drew up an out-of-bounds play from full court, but Lendeborg tossed the ball to Mara, who fumbled it, forcing overtime.
In overtime, Michigan led 85-84 with 6.6, but got a defensive stop to advance to 2-0 on the season.
Mara finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks in the victory.
He won player of the game with those monstrous numbers.
Cadeau finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
With the victory, Michigan improved to 4-0 inside Little Caesars Arena, having previously taken down Oakland University in 2024, Eastern Michigan in 2022, and the University of Detroit Mercy in 2017.
There was a lot of news surrounding the injuries of star transfer Yaxel Lendeborg and Big Ten Tournament champion L.J. Cason before the game, but they had no limits in the matchup.
Lendeborg was nursing a right-hand injury that was heavily wrapped in the season opener vs. Oakland, where he dropped 12 points, shooting 4-4, including a pair of three-pointers and a fast-break dunk, while grimacing while running back on defense.
Head coach Dusty May said on Monday, Nov. 10, that Lendeborg should be close to 100%.
Reports indicated that no broken bones occurred, and the injury was not long-term, which is why he came off the bench and played limited minutes with his hand wrapped.
Cason sustained a shoulder injury and had been out for a few weeks, but he looked like his usual self during warmups.
1st half
The game tipped off with Lendeborg getting his first start in the maize and blue with Nimari Burnett, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr., and Elliot Cadeau as Michigan won the toss and hit Johnson Jr. with a feed down low for the game’s first two points.
Johnson Jr. followed that up with an offensive rebound and put-back bunny for the game’s first four points.
Tre’Von Spiller knocked down two free throws to put Wake Forest on the board before Lendeborg knocked down the first three-pointer of the game.
Mara got a block on the other end before Wake Forest sank two threes to take an 8-7 lead. Spillers put the team up three after a tough finish at the rim.
Purdue forward Omaha Biliew got sent to the line with 16:08 to play, missing his first free throw before sinking the second to take an 11-7 lead before a timeout at the 15:56 mark of the game.
Roddy Gayle Jr. and Trey McKenney entered the game for the first time following the break alongside Mara, who was reinserted as the team trailed by four early in the matchup.
Mara got stripped under the basket and received the first turnover of the game before Gayle Jr. drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one.
Gayle Jr. got an offensive rebound and kicked it to Cadeau, who drained a three-pointer to take the lead before Myles Colvin and Cooper Schwieger made bunnies to retake the lead.
Mara got his first dunk of the game, followed by his second block as Michigan trailed 16-14 with 13:20 to play.
Cason entered the game as the backup point guard for the first time in a long time, dishing the ball to Gayle Jr., who hit Mara down low for a contested jumper, sending him to the line, where he missed both.
Will Tschetter entered the game to the amazement of the Michigan-favored crowd as Mara got his third block of the game.
An attacking Johnson Jr. drew another foul before McKenney stepped out of bounds for the Wolverines’ sixth turnover of the game.
Mara got slammed on by Spiller on a nasty alley oop to the dismay of the crowd.
Timeout was called with 11:30 to play as Michigan trailed 18-14.
Wake Forest is out-toughing them early by pushing them around and/or off their spots, causing quick turnovers.
After some quick hands by Michigan to force a turnover, McKenney dove to the rim for a contested layup for his first points of the game.
After forcing a missed shot, Lendeborg had a rim run that led to a monster jam to tie the game at 18.
Cadeau drew a charge on defense, but Lendeborg bricked a wide-open three-pointer with 9:50 to play.
Juke Harris knocked down a three to retake the lead as Cadeau grabbed a rebound while lying on the ground, calling the team’s first time out with 9:02 to play.
Michigan looked more energized at that point in the game, attacking the rim early and often.
Following the timeout, Mara received a complimentary basket after Wake Forest was called for goaltending. Mara got a defensive rebound as the Wolverines trailed 21-20, but Gayle Jr. drew a foul.
Burnett attacked the glass on the offensive side and got a contested layup to retake the lead before Cadeau got called for his first foul on defense, leading to an official’s timeout as Michigan led 22-21 with 7:54 to play.
The Wolverines were shooting 10-19 from the field, while Wake Forest was shooting 7-21 with under eight minutes to play in the defensive game.
Mekhi Mason drained a tough contest three-pointer on Burnett to take a 24-22 lead.
But Michigan turned defense into offense as Cadeau drew a foul on the fast break for an and one to retake the lead, 25-24, with 6:34 to play.
Following another transition rim run, Lendeborg grabbed his first rebound of the game and found McKenney under the basket, who got fouled, making both free throws to take a 27-24 lead with 5:44 to play in the half.
Mara was reinserted into the game, snagging his fifth rebound, leading to a Cadeau contested foul on offense, sending him to the line, where he knocked down both free throws to stretch the lead to five with 5:15 to play.
Biliew drained a long two before Gayle Jr. drew a foul on Spillers, his third of the game.
Gayle Jr. went to the line and bricked the first one, but made the second one as Wake Forest is over the limit for the half.
Lendeborg cleaned the glass on the defensive side, leading to another fast-break foul on Wake Forest, as Gayle Jr. attacked the rim but missed the shot.
Gayle Jr. made both free throws this time to extend the lead to six with 4:10 left in the half.
Michigan forced another turnover on Wake Forest, their fourth, but turned the ball over after Mara couldn’t handle the bounce pass from Gayle Jr. in the paint, which was recovered by Tschetter, who slid on the ground during the play.
After the turnover, Wake Forest bricked at the rim before Michigan ran the floor following a Cason rebound, swinging the ball to Gayle Jr., who missed a contested layup, but Mara followed the ball for a putback jam to push the lead to 34-26.
Wake Forest got on the board, followed by another Michigan turnover, but Wake Forest turned the ball over again, leading to Tschetter finding Mara on a lob dunk.
Michigan forced Wake Forest to turn the ball over again before Cason got fouled at the rim, sending him to the line where he drained both to put the Wolverines up 38-28 with 2:09 to play.
Harris drew a foul on Mara, his first of the game, sending him to the line, where he hit both.
Cason attacked the basket again and got fouled as he hit both free throws to go back up 10 before Sebastian Akins knocked down a contested jumper.
Mara looked like a man among boys as he got another rim run to go back up 10 before Cadeau got fouled with 1:04 to play, splitting the pair.
Akins got the deficit back to single digits after another contested jumper, but Cadeau drained a three-pointer to go up 12.
Cason attacked the rim again, drawing the foul with 24 seconds to play, splitting the pair.
Wake Forest held the ball for the final shot, but missed as Lendeborg got his second defensive rebound of the game to end the half.
The Wolverines led 47-34 at the half behind monstrous play by Mara, who finished with 10 points, two behind Cadeau, who was all over the floor, hitting the Deacons with layups, jumpers, and threes, finishing with 12.
Lendeborg and Cason both had five points in the first half, followed by Johnson Jr. and McKenney with four points each and Burnett with two.
2nd half
The Wolverines entered the second half up 13 with the ball and turned it over on the first possession after Cadeau forced-fed to Mara, who lost the ball out of bounds.
Wake Forest gave the ball to Mason, who drew the second foul on Cadeau and made both free throws.
Lendeborg remained ice cold from three as he bricked a wide-open shot, leading to an offensive foul by Burnett.
Lendeborg got a block on the next possession, but it didn’t lead to any points. He then forced a steal that led to a fast-break alley-oop for Johnson Jr.
Mason drained a free-throw jumper to cut the deficit to nine, but got called for a foul before Mara hit Johnson Jr. for an easy basket.
Mara fumbled the ball out of bounds on another pass under the basket.
Spillers got back on the scoreboard with a jumper before Johnson Jr. got called for an offensive foul, his third of the game.
Quick hands by Lendebord led to another steal and dunk at the other end of the floor.
Wake Forest scored seven straight points as Harris drew an and-one with 15:05 to play, cutting the deficit to 53-47 with a free throw to come following an official’s timeout.
The free throw was successful, as the run jumped to 8-0 while the lead was cut to five with 14:28 to play.
McKenney got tripped at the basket during a fast break, sending him to the line for two to stop the bleeding, and he made both.
Nate Calmese hit a wide-open three-pointer to cut the lead to four with 13:40 to play.
Poor free-throw shooting is costing Michigan, as Cason got fouled on the next play but split the pair.
Michigan was 17-24 before Harris got a putback layup.
Mara found McKenney, who cut to the basket for a reverse layup to push the lead back to five.
Following a tough offensive possession and a turnover, Gayle Jr. made a contested layup, but Tschetter got called for his first foul of the game, sending Harris to the line for two.
Harris made both as the lead got cut to five with 11:57 to play.
Tschetter got a wide-open look at a three, but missed. McKenney got fouled on the offensive rebound attempt.
Michigan was 3-18 from deep after missing back-to-back from beyond the arc.
Akins got bailed out on a drive attempt as Tschetter fouled him with the shot clock ticking down, sending him to the line where he made both to cut the lead to 60-57 with 10:55 to play.
Johnson Jr. got hacked at the rim and sent to the line for two, making both to push the lead back to five.
Mason knocked down a three-pointer before Cason scored an uncontested bunny. He turned the ball over, leading to a layup to cut the lead to two as Wake Forest retook the momentum.
After trailing by as much as 13 at the half, Wake Forest guard Mason got sent to the line to tie the game, but missed both before Cooper Schwieger got a contested slam to tie the game as the Wake Forest bench erupts.
Wake Forest was on a 30-17 run with 8:42 to play to tie the game at 64-64.
With 8:42 to play, after giving up 30 points in 11 minutes and 18 seconds, and with the Detroit crowd behind them, Michigan needed an answer, and they found one as Mara threw a lob to Lendeborg for the monster jam.
But Burnett got called for a foul, his third and the team’s ninth, as Calmese got an and-one to take their first lead of the half.
Mara’s rebound and slam gave Michigan a 68-67 lead before Wake Forest threw the ball out of bounds, their eighth of the game.
After another official’s timeout, Michigan got the ball with 7:48 to play.
May drew up another play, setting up Johnson Jr. for another rim run, but he tripped, heading to the line for a none-and-one and missed.
Calmese with the ball pushed Cadeau to the floor in what looked like a flop. Burnett got a good look at an open three, bricked, Lendeborg drove to the basket, missed, leading to a fast break and an and-one dunk as Michigan trailed by two.
Cadeau got posterized on the play. Schwieger got a put-back to go up four as Michigan kept shooting and missing three pointers.
Wake Forest is running away with the game as Calmese attacked the rim, was fouled, and made both free throws, leading 74-68, before Mara made a putback jam.
Myles Colvin knocked down a three-pointer to push the lead to seven before Lendeborg turned the ball over on the next possession.
Gayle Jr. had himself a rim run on a fast break but got fouled at the rim, splitting the pair.
Trailing by six with four minutes to play, Mara got doubled in the paint but stepped through and nearly got the and-one, but the ball bounced off the rim.
An official’s timeout was called with 3:44 to play as Michigan, which once trailed by 13, trailed by six with the ball as Mara went to the line to shoot two.
Mara sank both to cut the deficit to four in a tight moment of the game as the Michigan fans got into the game, causing Wake Forest to turn the ball over.
With “Let’s Go Blue” chants ringing out, Johnson Jr. turned the ball over, then forced a turnover, leading to a McKenney three, but he airballed.
Wake Forest got a good look at a three, but bricked, as Cadeau got the defensive rebound and drew a foul, which was challenged, and Spiller was called for his fifth of the game.
The play was confirmed, and he fouled out with 2:41 to play.
Cadeau went to the line and split the pair.
After a kicked-ball violation, chants of “defense,” Gayle Jr. got hacked at the rim but did not get the foul call.
Michigan hustled to the ball and found Gayle Jr. who spotted up for the wide open three pointer, drilling it to tie the game as the Michigan fans erupted.
Michigan played good defense and forced a loose-ball foul with 1:14 to play, keeping the game tied at 77.
Cadeau went back to the line and split the pair, taking a one-point lead before Colvin drained a wide-open three to take a two-point lead with 54.5 remaining.
Needing a bucket, Michigan drove the length of the floor and fed the ball to Mara, who missed a hook shot at the rim.
Getting the rebound, Cadeau drove to the rim to tie the game.
Wake Forest drove to the rack and lost the ball giving it back to Michigan with 0.07 left but the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Michigan won the tap, and Cadeau lobbed it to Mara to take the lead.
Wake Forest got the putback jam to tie the game before forcing another turnover on Michigan.
Wake Forest didn’t accomplish much as they turned the ball over, leading to a Gayle Jr. floater to retake the lead.
Michigan got caught in a jumpball situation with the possession arrow pointing to Wake Forest.
They couldn’t convert.
Lendeborg wasn’t watching as the ball hit off of him forcing another turnover before he got a defensive rebouond and lost the ball out of bounds with two minutes to play.
Schwieger tied the game, and Wake Forest had a chance to take the lead as McKenney missed another three-pointer, leading to a 30-second timeout with 1:26 to play.
With the ball, Wake Forest drew a foul as McKenney got called for the foul on Mason, who missed both.
Cadeau picked up his fourth after driving to the hoop but was called for a charge, prompting an official’s timeout.
The call stood as Wake Forest took possession with 57 seconds left in overtime.
Needing a stop, Michigan got it and had the ball with seven seconds in between the shot clock and game clock.
May drew up a play as Cadeau got fouled and sent to the line with 13.8 to play.
At the line with the game tied, he split the pair as Wake Forest called a timeout with 6.6 to play.
In overtime, Michigan led 85-84 with 6.6, but got a defensive stop to advance to 2-0 on the season.
Mara finished the game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks in the victory.
He won player of the game with those monstrous numbers.
Lendeborg finished with nine points and five rebounds. Johnson Jr. had 10 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.