When junior guard Zack Novak made a layup with 11:05 left in the first half to give Michigan a 12-8 lead Tuesday night, he probably had no idea his team was about to go on a seven-minute field goal drought.

It was that kind of a half for the Michigan men’s basketball team, as it struggled to hit shots until after the halftime break in the 64-44 defeat of North Carolina Central.

Michigan (8-2 overall) often found open chances in the first frame. But the Wolverines just couldn’t knock them down, shooting 28.6 percent from the field and making just two 3-pointers in 16 attempts against the Eagle zone defense.

Aided by similarly poor shooting from North Carolina Central (4-5) and eight Eagle turnovers, Michigan was still able to take a 23-19 lead into the half.

“We haven’t really had a half like that yet,” Novak said. “Everyone has halves where the ball’s just not falling in the hole. We were getting open shots, just didn’t knock them down.

“Second half, we were just going to come out and just keep shooting and they were going to go down.”

And the Wolverines did just that, going 15-for-28 from the field in the second half, including 6-of-13 from long range.

Michigan relied on easy opportunities to get its offense kick-started. N.C. Central’s full-court pressure early in the second half opened up spots for the Wolverines. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz’s five straight points and Novak’s 3-pointer that followed put Michigan up 39-27 with 13:45 remaining, finally giving the team some breathing room.

After the teams traded baskets for much of the second half, the Wolverines went on an 18-5 run to put the game out of reach.

But after the game, Michigan coach John Beilein was still unsatisfied with the fast-break attack.

“I thought today we could’ve had more (fast-break) opportunities,” Beilein said. “We made some bad selections. We took some quick shots and then passed up some easy ones … We got to keep (improving). We got to find ways to score easy points.”

Freshman forward Jon Horford helped keep the Wolverines afloat in the first half, subbing in for redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan after Morgan committed his second early foul. Horford led the team with six points and five rebounds before the break, and he finished the game with nine of each.

It was the second straight solid performance from the Grand Ledge, Mich. native after notching a career-high 16 minutes against Utah last Friday.

“It feels great when you can help your team,” Horford said. “There’s nothing better than being able to contribute to a great win and help out your teammates. No better feeling.”

Morgan added, “Staying out (of foul trouble) is a big part for our team, just having an inside presence. But we got people that can come off the bench and help us … Just seeing (Horford) get better and seeing him have success, I’m (as) happy for him as he would be to see me have success.”

Beilein said he wasn’t concerned that his young team was looking past the Eagles — he thought his players were still too “innocent” to not take an opponent seriously. And the coach didn’t see any one issue as the cause of Michigan’s first-half shooting woes.

Instead, Beilein was just happy that the Wolverines didn’t get discouraged.

“We got a lot of great guys and they blame themselves before they blame others,” Beilein said. “Now all of a sudden that basket gets smaller and smaller, and it’s very difficult to make (shots). We busted out with a few … I do like that we could do that when (N.C. Central was) in a zone (defense).

“We’re going to have good days — it’s part of sports … and you’re going to have days where you say, ‘Is that the same team?’ They’re young kids, so young that they’re going to bounce around a little bit with their confidence.”