ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team remained undefeated, taking down the La Salle Explorers 102- 50.
With the victory, Michigan, on Sunday (Dec. 21), joined the 2020-2021 team, which also started the season undefeated, having won its first 11 games.
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The undefeated start also put them in the company of the 2018-2019 (17-0), 2012-2013 (16-0), 1988-1989 (11-0), and 1985-1986 (16-0) teams.
Michigan turned defense into offense all afternoon as its full-court press flustered La Salle, leading to 18 turnovers.
Head coach Dusty May had the men in maize ready to play on both ends of the floor as Michigan scored 100 or more points for the sixth time this season.
Postgame sound coming
1st half
Michigan won the opening tip, but Morez Johnson Jr. missed the first shot attempt of the game.
Josiah Harris scored the first basket, putting La Salle on the board early.
Yaxel Lendeborg forced the first turnover of the game before Elliot Cadeau hit the first three-pointer.
Nimari Burnett stole the ball and assisted Lendeborg for a contested layup, making the score 5-2.
Ashton Walker responded with a 10-foot jumper, cutting the lead to 5-4.
Jaeden Marshall was fouled behind the three-point line and made both free throws to give La Salle a 6-5 lead.
Cadeau found Johnson Jr. for an easy basket, putting Michigan ahead 7-6. Michigan called a timeout with 15:52 remaining.
Cadeau drew a foul on Eric Acker and sank both free throws, extending the lead to 9-6.
Edwin Daniel scored an easy dunk to cut the deficit to one point.
Daniel followed with a tip-in, giving La Salle a 10-9 lead.
Roddy Gayle Jr. was fouled after a defensive rebound, and L.J. Cason knocked down an uncontested three-pointer.
Gayle Jr. was fouled attacking the basket and made both free throws, pushing La Salle ahead 14-10.
After a turnover, Cason was fouled while splitting the defense.
Trey McKenney, coming off a screen, hit his first three-pointer to give Michigan a 17-10 lead.
Gayle Jr. drew another foul before Aday Mara was called for an offensive foul going for a rebound.
Gayle Jr. stole the ball and assisted Cason, who found McKenney for his second three-pointer, increasing Michigan’s lead.
Josiah Harris stopped the run with a floater, but Cason dazzled at the top of the key before finishing at the rim, making it 22-12.
Gayle Jr. drew a defensive foul while setting up a pick-and-roll play.
Michigan called a timeout.
Cason missed an easy jumper at the rim after some fancy moves.
Johnson Jr. was called for his first defensive foul.
Cason grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled, going to the line for a one-and-one.
Will Tschetter shot an airball three-pointer, rebounded by La Salle, who then turned the ball over.
Johnson Jr. was fouled on the next possession and made both free throws, extending Michigan’s lead to 24-12.
La Salle turned the ball over after a trap on the inbound.
Mara was fouled following an offensive rebound and went to the line for an and-one, but missed the free throw.
Lendeborg pushed the ball upcourt and found Mara for another and-one attempt, making the free throw to take a 29-12 lead.
Johnson Jr. stole the ball after another inbound turnover and found Lendeborg for an easy layup, pushing the lead to 31-12. La Salle called a timeout.
Ashton Walker broke the press and made a contested layup, stopping La Salle’s six-minute scoring drought.
Cadeau hit back-to-back three-pointers.
Bowyn Beatty hit a jumper, followed by Marshall knocking down a three-pointer after another timeout. Michigan led 37-19 with 7:01 remaining.
Marshall was fouled and made both free throws, cutting the deficit to 37-21.
Cadeau was fouled at the rim but responded with an up-and-under reverse layup, pushing the lead back to 18.
Tschetter drew a defensive foul on the next possession. Cadeau was called for an offensive foul with 5:57 remaining.
McKenney was called for a defensive foul, sending Marshall to the line for a one-and-one, making both free throws. The deficit was 39-23.
Gayle Jr. turned the ball over trying to feed Lendeborg under the basket.
Walker hit a floater to cut the deficit to 14 before Lendeborg was called for his first foul.
Archer stepped to the line and made both free throws, cutting the deficit to 12 with 4:44 remaining.
McKenney drove to the paint and was fouled by Marshall, making both free throws to stop La Salle’s run.
Mara grabbed a defensive rebound and found Cason, who knocked down an uncontested three-pointer, making it 44-27 Michigan.
Michigan grabbed the defensive rebound, and Cason pushed the fast break, finding Mara, who was fouled at the rim with 3:36 remaining.
Michigan called a timeout.
Mara missed both free throws, keeping the lead at 44-27.
Cadeau grabbed the defensive rebound and found McKenney for another three-pointer, extending Michigan’s lead to 20.
Mara grabbed another defensive rebound, ran point, and hit Cadeau, who found Mara in the post drawing a foul.
Mara split the free throws, but Tschetter grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a layup.
T. Harris hit an uncontested jumper to cut the deficit to 18 before Mara drew another foul on La Salle.
Mara made both free throws, putting Michigan up by 21 with 1:35 remaining in the half.
Cadeau threw an errant pass that fell off Gayle Jr.’s fingertips, marking La Salle’s sixth turnover.
La Salle had committed 11 fouls at that point.
Marshall was fouled, making both free throws before Cason knocked down another three-pointer to take a 53-31 lead with 41.6 seconds left in the half.
Michigan called a timeout.
Archer made a jumper before Gayle Jr. was fouled with two seconds remaining.
Gayle Jr. made the first free throw and missed the second as Michigan led 54-33 at halftime.
2nd half
Mara got the defensive rebound and hit Cadeau, who found Johnson Jr. for a contested layup.
Lendeborg stole the ball, and Burnett made a contested layup to push the lead to 58-33.
Lendeborg got a block shot, and it looked like the ball might have gone out of bounds off of La Salle, which Michigan challenged with 18:50 to play in the half.
Michigan lost the challenge and had no more challenges left in the game.
Marshall scored a reverse layup on the out-of-bounds play.
J. Harris made a jumper before Mara followed suit with a contested layup.
Burnett got fouled while driving to the rim, shooting two, making both.
After more stifling defense, Lendeborg went coast to coast to find Mara for the lob dunk.
Timeout.
Michigan got another turnover as La Salle got called for traveling.
T. Harris got called for a foul after hacking Cadeau on the baseline.
Cadeau missed the first one but made the second as Michigan took a 65-37 lead.
Michigan turned defense into offense as Gayle Jr. got the block and led the fastbreak, hitting Lendeborg for a massive jam to get the crowd to erupt.
Another turnover occurred as Cadeau gathered his feet for a wide-open dunk attempt, but it looked like he lost his feet or the gather before going mid-air and blowing the layup.
Timeout.
Lendeborg found Gayle Jr. for a three-pointer to take a 70-37 lead.
Eric Acker got a bucket before Johnson Jr. answered on the other end.
McKenney drove to the hole for a contested layup.
Timeout with 12 minutes to play in the game.
J. Harris made a jumper before Cason knocked down a three-pointer as the lead grew to 36 (77-41).
Mara got big and took his defender to the rim for a tough layup.
Tschetter fouled on the next possession.
Lendeborg got called for his second foul of the game, sending Marshall to the line, where he made both.
Cason, assisted by Mara on the bucket.
Lendeborg tipped in his own miss for his eighth point of the game.
Timeout with 7:52 to play.
Johnson Jr. caught a lob from Cadeau for his 10th point of the game.
Tschetter drew another offensive foul as Winters Grady and Malick Kordel.
Kordel missed the one-and-one.
Oscar Goodman entered the game.
After another turnover, Tschetter knocked down an uncontested three-pointer to push the lead up to 88-43.
McKenney got fouled on the following possession.
He went to the line and made both free throws as Michigan led by 47 points with 4:33 to play.
Acker hit another three-pointer.
McKenney knocked down another jumper as he led Michigan with 17 points.
Grady hit a corner three-pointer as Michigan neared 100 points.
Goodman made a putback layup to take a 97-46 lead with 2:23 to play.
Grady got fouled and hit both free throws to take a 99-46 lead.
Howard Eisley Jr.entered the game to a lively applause before draining a three-pointer, which got the crowd pumped as Michigan went over 100 points again this season.
It was the sixth time this season they’ve done so.