The Michigan basketball team continued its dominance at Crisler Arena today with a 70-54 win over Ohio State. The Wolverines (8-3 Big Ten, 15-9 overall) remained undefeated at home in conference play and completed their season sweep over the Buckeyes.
“This was a game we needed to stay in contention as we go down the stretch,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said.
The game belonged to guard Lester Abram at the beginning. The freshman scored 10 points before the first TV timeout, helping the Wolverines jump out to a quick 12-6 lead. Abram finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.
“I was impressed with his overall game, he gave us quality minutes and was very efficient out there,” Amaker said.
From that point on, his backcourt partner in crime, freshman Daniel Horton, worked some magic of his own. With six minutes left in the first half, Horton caught fire, as he scored 13 points in a span of four minutes, which included three straight bombs from long range. Horton led all scorers with 21 points, and distributed the ball well to finish with five assists.
Michigan headed into the lockerroom at halftime with a comfortable 38-24 lead.
Senior LaVell Blanchard took the reigns to open the second half. Blanchard, who had seven points and seven boards at halftime, continued to box out well and play aggressive defense. He finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.
With 14:33 left in the second half, the Wolverines went on an 11-0 run which put them up by 27 with 10 minutes left to play. The Buckeyes began to chip away, but could only come as close as 13.
Junior Bernard Robinson struggled to find his rhythm, as he fouled out of the game with more than seven minutes to play and without a point. But his defensive effort on Ohio State star Brent Darby prevented the senior from hurting the Wolverines.
“I thought we had an outstanding team performance, and we certainly needed that,” Amaker said.
Michigan did what it needed to do to stay in the running for the conference title. With a game at Purdue coming up on Wednesday night, followed by a game at Wisconsin next Wednesday, it will not be a walk in the park.
But a win in one of those two games seems like it will be necessary for the Wolverines to keep pace with the conference leaders.