Michigan erased a 15-point second-half deficit during a 78-69 overtime win over UCLA on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
Earlier this week, Michigan’s second half was a disaster.
And for about five minutes Saturday in Ann Arbor, history was repeating itself.
The Wolverines found themselves down 15 with 14:48 to play against UCLA. But unlike Monday’s loss at Ohio State, Michigan turned things around and finished with style on its way to a 78-69 overtime win over the Bruins at the Crisler Center.
«We did everything we could to play some inefficient basketball,» Michigan coach John Beilein said after the game. «But when we really needed to suck it up and get work done at the end, we got it done.
«I’m hoping that’s a huge bench mark for our team as we go forward. It was the exact opposite of what happened at Ohio State…. It was a great win for us.»
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Beilein went on to say he «felt almost guilty» after the victory Saturday because of all the miscues his club went through: The Wolverines were a miserable 8 of 22 from the foul line and their brutal first five minutes of the second half was nearly enough to bury the team.
But, behind 23 points from Moritz Wagner and 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists from Charles Matthews, Michigan (8-3,1-1) found a way to finish things off.
The Wolverines return to the floor Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN 2) at Texas.
«We’ll take the ‘W’ every day,» Beilein said. «We did earn it in the long run.»
It was an up and down day for Matthews, but perhaps his biggest learning experience to date as a Michigan player. Early in the second half, with the team languishing, Beilein looked at his talented third-year sophomore and told him he’d been UCLA’s most valuable player all day.
«He needed to be the most valuable player for Michigan,» Beilein added.
And while it wasn’t always easy, Matthews did respond. He scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and overtime, had a personal 8-0 run in the second half and made enough clutch plays for his team with the game on the line.
He still went just 2 of 10 from the foul line and is now a woeful 47.7 percent on the season.
«I just felt like I kind of lost the last game for us, because I wasn’t bringing a lot of energy,» Matthews said. «I can’t let my teammates down again. This team looks at me (for energy). So I thought ‘I need to do what I need to do.’ «
Beilein says Matthews is still in the process of learning to play and excel within the structure of Michigan’s offense. But he also wants him to keep his own identity and understand when it’s time to break off and get a basket.
On Saturday, it was just enough.
Michigan sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson came off the bench once again Saturday, but he made the most of his minutes and turned in what was probably his best game of the year.
Simpson finished with 15 points, 4 steals and 2 boards for the Wolverines in 24 minutes. He, like freshman Eli Brooks and grad transfer Jaaron Simmons, has been up and down at the point this year.
But he hung in long enough Saturday. Asked what Beilein told him before leaving him on the floor for an extended stretch in the second half, Simpson’s answer was simple.
«Just play defense,» he said.
Simpson stripped UCLA star Aaron Holiday near midcourt with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation and converted a critical layup to bring the Wolverines back within one and extend the game.
He and Duncan Robinson made eight of the team’s 12 steals. UCLA finished with 20 turnovers.
Michigan’s foul shooting was horrific Saturday, as the Wolverines went 1 of 4 in the first half, 6 of 14 in the second and 1 of 4 in the overtime period.
As a team, Michigan is now shooting 62.7 percent from the charity stripe this season. Matthews was 2 of 10 from the line, Wagner was 0 of 3. Simpson and Jordan Poole both missed free throws.
But Brooks — who had not made two straight the entire year — managed to step to the line and drill two critical shots with 10 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
Beilein wanted to get more time for both Poole and fellow freshman Isaiah Livers on Saturday, though it ended up not being by much.
Poole logged 11 minutes, up from Monday’s eight, and was an ineffective 0 of 3 from the field (all 3-pointers) and just 1 of 2 from the free throw line. He had one rebound and a turnover.
Livers, meanwhile, got the most out of his 11 minutes as he pullled down a team-high seven rebounds and also added an assist as the Wolverines’ backup four-man.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman played 44 of a possible 45 minutes Saturday.
Senior captain Duncan Robinson is in a funk. The fifth-year senior sharpshooter was just 1 of 7 from the field, 0 of 5 from long range, for 2 points and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes of action Saturday.
He’s just 5 of 30 from the floor in his last four games, 4 of 24 from long range.
He’s still in the starting lineup, though Livers is starting to cut into his minutes. Robinson logged 29 minutes of regulation time Saturday, but did play the entire overtime session.
Beilein said after the game he was confident Robinson would shoot his way out of his slump.
Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.
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