Wolverines push past winless North Carolina Central
Jason Kohler
Daily Sports WriterDecember 29th, 2008
Fifth-year senior C.J. Lee jogged to the locker room before tonight's game against North Carolina Central yelling out, "We got our jersey's back on."
The Wolverines suited up for the first time in week after a short Christmas break and slipped past North Carolina Central 77-57 in the last game before conference season begins.
But the 20-point margin of victory wasn't as fulfilling as they would've liked.
Michigan (10-2) allowed the winless Eagles (0-15) to stick around late into the game in what was supposed to be a run-away victory.
Although the Wolverines matched their season-average of 11 turnovers per game, they had difficulty handling the ball and establishing an offensive rhythm. The Eagles attacked Michigan's transition offense, pressing the Wolverine rebounders and making it difficult for them to distribute the ball up the floor.
"We had some turnovers come that we normally don't have," sophomore guard Kelvin Grady said. "But I think that's part of us building and getting ready for the Big Ten season. I don't see that happening from here on out. We might have some slip ups, but I don't see it being as bad as it was today."
Michigan also struggled to hit open baskets. For the second game in a row, it easily won the game but failed to shoot over 40 percent.
"Back to back, not two great games," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "It's a convincing win and we're scoring the ball without shooting the ball well."
The Wolverines didn't start sluggish and early on appeared poised for a blow out.
After securing the tipoff, sophomore forward Manny Harris dribbled the ball up the court and coolly knocked down an uncontested 3-pointer.
For the first time in his career, Harris didn't wear an undershirt, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"I was actually sick and I got tired too fast without the shirt on, but I still might go back to the shirt," Harris said. "I like the shirt."
Harris didn't appear to be hampered by the sickness as he scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Laval Lucas-Perry also provided an offensive boost for Michigan, hitting his first three 3-pointers.
Although the Eagles never seriously threatened, they kept the game close, pulling within eight points late into the second half.
"I'm never going to say a win is bad," freshman Zack Novak said. "But we didn't do some things as well as we would've liked to. We'll go into practice tomorrow and get some things cleaned up."
Michigan has a short turnaround heading into conference play as it faces reigning Big Ten champion Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Grady, who went 0-4 from the field, said he'll be at the gym early tomorrow morning shooting as many baskets as he can to get ready for the Badgers.
Despite the Wolverines difficulties tonight, they still earned their 10th victory season, already equaling last year's win total.
"We'll find out how good this team is and where we got to go once we get into the Big Ten schedule," Beilein said. "I'm very appreciative we're 10-2. But I also know we have a big upside that we have to continue to develop."
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:47:04 -0500