Eight minutes into the second half, sophomore Manny Harris weaved past Northeastern's press defense and slashed to the paint. Harris then rose for a layup, but he made an atypical move for a prolific scorer — he passed.

Harris instead dished the ball to junior DeShawn Sims, who finished the play with an emphatic dunk. On the next possession, Harris again found Sims in the paint for another assist.

"It's the team," Sims said. "It could've been Zack (Gibson) right there on that box if he wasn't in foul trouble. Manny did a good job of penetrating and passing to the open man."

But it wasn't just any player. Harris dished six of his career-high eight assists to Sims in Michigan's 76-56 win over Northeastern last night.

"He's a great finisher," Harris said. "I know if I put it right in his hands, most of the time he scores."

Sims was the second leading scorer last night with 19 points, 12 set up by Harris assists.

Sims was a starter last year, but Michigan coach John Beilein has made Sims this year's sixth man. With a lack of big men on the Michigan roster, Sims will also spend more time in the post compared to last season, when he was a wing.

No matter the coaching adjustments, the duo is a potent scoring threat when they're on the floor together.

"They both happen to have a knack for finding little grooves and slithering around to find that little opening," Beilein said.

Almost perfect: Michigan was almost perfect from the free throw line — almost.

With 3:07 left in the game, Harris stepped to the charity stripe and bricked a shot off the back of the rim. It was the only failed free throw attempt of the night.

Although he had the lone miss, Harris led the way at the line. He shot 14 of Michigan's 26 free throws. That accounted for half his points.

The Wolverines made 96.2 percent of its free throws, the second best single-game percentage in the program's history.

It's just about us about having pride," sophomore Anthony Wright said. "Stick to your mechanics and make the shot, that's all it is."

A Wright start: In all three games this season, including the exhibition match, sophomore Anthony Wright has launched the opening 3-point shot.

Last night, the shot clanked off the rim, but that didn't deter his confidence.

"I thought it was good." Wright said. "I was like 'If I get another chance, I'm going to hit it,' because I was feeling good out there warming up."

Against Michigan Tech on Tuesday, Wright drained two 3-pointers in a row to give Michigan an early 6-0 lead.

"I'm just trying to be that spark and get the team going," Wright said.

The 6-foot-8 forward doesn't have a typical shooter's frame. But in Beilein's offense, every position is expected to shoot the deep ball, and Wright loves to launch them.

If he has another chance at an open 3-pointer at the start of next game, he said he'd take it. And that's why Beilein puts him out there.

Note: Four Michigan recruits — Blake McLimans, Jordan Morgan, Darius Morris and Matt Vogrich — signed letters of intent yesterday. Beilein recruited the players specifically to fit into his system, and they will fill the void of seniors C.J. Lee, David Merritt and Jevohn Shepherd next season.