Michigan basketball pulls away late to beat Lipscomb, 83-75

Strong first half offensive performances from Michigan freshman wing Jett Howard and sophomore shooting guard Kobe Bufkin led to a 49-point first half outburst, but the Wolverines needed a late rally to pull away from Lipscomb for an 83-75 win.

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The Wolverines improved to 6-3 with the win and will next play North Carolina in Charlotte, N.C. Wednesday. 

Both teams shot extremely well in the first half. Michigan shot 55.6 percent, 38.5 percent from long range, and led by as many as 13 at the 5:57 mark when junior center Hunter Dickinson hit a triple from the top. That made it 37-24, and U-M was in complete control. 

Howard and Bufkin were the catalysts. Howard shot 13 times but made 6, several of them pull-up jumpers inside the free throw line. He made only 1 of 5 triples, however, but scored 14 points in 15 minutes. Two of them came on behind the back finish and dunk in transition. 

Bufkin continued to shine offensively. He made all 5 of his field goals, including a pair of triples, and was aggressive to the rim once again. 

All the Wolverines seemed to struggle again on the defensive end to allow Lipscomb to hang around. They had a particularly hard time slowing guard Will Pruitt. They left him alone for a number of triples and he made 4-of-5 on his way to 16 first half points. No other Lipscomb player had more than 6, and it helped keep them close. 

The Bisons shot 51.6 percent in the first half, 40 percent from long range. 

Dickinson scored 9 in the first half, one that ended 49-41 Wolverines. 

SECOND HALF: Michigan rallies late to avoid the upset

Michigan started slowly in the second half. Bufkin missed a pair of free throws, the Wolverines lost Pruitt again, and the Lipscomb guard hit three free throws when Bufkin fouled him behind the arc. 

Bufkin helped make up for it with a triple from the corner on a pass from Howard, pushing it back to 52-44. 

Jumpers from Howard and a strong drive and finish from Bufkin pushed the lead back to 12 at the 16:30 mark, and it appeared Michigan was ready to run away with it.

Instead, the Wolverines continued their defensive struggles. They got beat backdoor several times, including by Pruitt. He was fouled and cut the lead to 58-53 at the 13- minute mark. That followed a pair of missed free throws from freshman Tarris Reed, who was 0-for-5 from the line at that point. 

Michigan started to play through Dickinson at that point. He scored U-M’s next 4. But a second-chance triple from A.J. McGinnis made it 62-58 at 10:35 and forced a Michigan timeout. 

It didn’t help. McGinnis tripled again, and a Derrin Boyd jumper put the Bisons up for the first time since the first half, 63-62. Quincy Clark made it 65-62 with a jumper at 7:00 before Terrance Williams II stopped the bleeding with a three-point play to tie it. Clark came right back with a three-point play of his own.

Howard finally gave Michigan the lead back, 69-68 at 5:48 with an and-one in transition, but the Wolverines were in for a dogfight down the stretch. The frosh Howard gave it right back by getting beat backdoor again by Pruitt, who converted an and-one of his own.

A blow by from Clark make it 73-69, and Michigan appeared to be in trouble.

Bufkin, though, stepped up with the biggest short of the game to that point, a triple from the corner that cut it to 73-72.

McDaniel then came alive. He got Michigan back on top with a drive and finish, his first points of the game. U-M got a stop, and McDaniel hit a jumper off the dribble to extend the lead to 3.

Dickinson made it a 5-point edge with a long wing jumper, and the Wolverines got another stop. McDaniel hit two more free throws to extend the lead to 7, and Michigan closed it out from the free throw line.

Bufkin led Michigan with 22 points. Howard added 19 and Dickinson 15 for the Wolverines.