With captains Lester Abram and Graham Brown and guard Daniel Horton out of the game because of injuries, several players usually relegated to the bench had to play significant minutes last night against High Point, and all of them made the most of that opportunity.

“I certainly was pleased — with players being out — how these kids responded with their opportunities,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “You never know when that opportunity is going to come. Are you going to be prepared for it? I thought this question was answered here tonight.”

Freshman Ron Coleman, junior Chris Hunter and sophomore Brent Petway all started their first game of the season against the Panthers.

“You play the hand you’ve been dealt,” Amaker said. “That’s what we’re doing, and we have confidence in the players that we have in our program.”

Sophomore John Andrews — who started in place of Abram — scored a career-high 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting. Andrews walked on to the team as a freshman last year, yet he has become one of the Wolverines’ most consistent players. Over the past three games — all starts — he’s shot 7-for-14 from the floor and has committed just two turnovers.

“With (Andrews’s) performance, he’s tough and he’s smart and he played that way,” Amaker said. “We were very pleased with the effort that our players gave us tonight.”

Seldom-used senior walk-on Dani Wohl played in place of the injured Horton. Wohl contributed mostly on the defensive end, playing solid on-the-ball defense for most of the night. On his very first defensive assignment, he forced his man into a five-second call. The senior played 30 minutes — a career high.

“I just tried to do whatever I could to give the team a lift,” Wohl said. “I’m just trying to get us to that level that (Horton’s) playing at. And obviously I can’t play as well as he can, but I just try and do whatever I can to help the team.”

Playing alongside Wohl at shooting guard, Coleman looked much more comfortable with his jump shot last night than he has all season. The freshman had to learn Amaker’s system at an accelerated pace but has been improving lately. He scored a career-high 11 points in Michigan’s 61-60 win over Notre Dame on Saturday and added five points in 19 minutes yesterday.

“I think Ron is really coming along,” J.C. Mathis said. “It took him a little time to get used to our system — coach Amaker moved along pretty fast — so it took him a little time, but now he’s playing well.”

Amaker did not start sophomore Courtney Sims, saying the forward has not performed as well as he would have liked lately. This decision left sophomore guard Dion Harris as the only Wolverine to start all eight games for Michigan this season. In addition to Wohl, three other Wolverines logged season highs in minutes: forwards Hunter (30) and Mathis (8), and wing John Andrews (29). The Wolverines’ upcoming player rotation appears to be uncertain.

“We are going to have a big challenge on our hands because we don’t know our personnel right now,” Amaker said.