footballwolverines
Maybe an upcoming home date with the tradition-rich Bruins of UCLA affected their state of mind last night as the Wolverines used auto-pilot for certain stretches on their way to a less-than-spectacular 69-49 win over Delaware State at Crisler Arena.
"We didn't play brilliantly at times, by any stretch of the imagination," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "But I give our kids credit for coming with the right mind set. This was a
difficult opponent to play against. With their system and their style - it tries you."
The Wolverines got comfortable with double-digit leads several times against the smaller, quicker team, then saw those advantages whither away. Delaware State was within six points with 11 minutes left in the game, but Michigan leaned on the throttle again and cruised to the 20-point win.
Ultimately, the Wolverines had too much talent and too much size for the Hornets, and 6-foot-11 Courtney Sims was the prime beneficiary of that mismatch, scoring a career-high 33 points for Michigan.
Sims hit 13 of 17 shots, mostly dunks and layups over the smaller Hornets. Sims (13) and 6-foot-9 Graham Brown (12) combined for 25 rebounds, while Delaware State had just 18 as a team.
"I thought our size really made the difference," Amaker said. "Our inside presence with Sims certainly was the difference offensively."
Michigan shot 60 percent from the field, boosted by its multitude of shots in the lane. Delaware State, pushed deep in its offensive sets by a Michigan zone for part of the night, hit just 27 percent of its shots.
"I think our defense had something to do with that," Amaker said. "Our length and our size gave them trouble."
The Hornets were battling the shot clock as much as they were battling Michigan early in the game, and hurried several efforts as they fell behind 9-2 in the first five minutes. Michigan stretched the lead to 16-2 about midway through the first half on a fastbreak dunk by Jevohn Shepherd as Delaware State continued to struggle from the outside.
Three straight baskets by Delaware's Jahsha Bluntt and some sloppy ball management by Michigan allowed the Hornets to quickly cut the lead to just six, and with three minutes left in the first half Delaware State was within 23-20 after a basket by Elyon Bush.
A score off the break by Lester Abram and a 3-point bomb from just inside half-court at the horn by Dion Harris allowed Michigan to move the lead to 32-24 at halftime.
After Delaware State made a push to cut the lead to 45-39 midway through the second half, Sims took control of the game. His fast-break basket was part of an 18-2 run that allowed Michigan to lead 63-41 with about five minutes left.
"He's capable of those kinds of numbers," Amaker said of Sims' performance, in which he had one fewer field goal than the entire Delaware State team. "He got out of the blocks early, and his teammates looked for him, and then got him the ball in position to score."
Michigan, which got 10 points from Abram, has started the season 6-0, its best in five seasons under Amaker, and the program's best start since going 6-0 to begin the 1999-2000 season.
"It feels great," Amaker said. "This group of seniors was 0-6 to start as freshmen, so they've earned this. They deserve it. We've been able to show so far that we can handle different situations. Our kids have been able to step forward and tackle the challenges."
