The Michigan Wolverines survived the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, securing an 85-84 win in overtime at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday. Michigan fought off a sloppy second half to pull off a thrilling
win and improve to 2-0.
Here’s how it all went down.
First half
Michigan quickly jumped out to a 7-2 lead as Morez Johnson Jr. scored the first four points, followed by Yaxel Lendeborg connecting on a three-pointer, but then Wake Forest responded with a 9-0 run to seize ahead 11-7 at the first media timeout.
Roddy Gayle Jr. and Elliot Cadeau knocked down a pair of jumpers to put the Wolverines back up in the early stages but the offense went cold after that — going more than two minutes without a point as Wake Forest took a 18-14 advantage.
Following the second media timeout, Michigan started to find a rhythm on offense as Aday Mara found Trey McKenney for a backdoor layup, then connected with Lendeborg for a fastbreak dunk to tie it 18-18 with 10:40 to go in the first half.
The Wolverines continued to forge ahead in the late stages of the first half, holding Wake Forest scoreless for over two minutes and putting together a 7-0 run – highlighted by a fastbreak finish and-1 from Cadeau– to take a 29-24 lead.
Cadeau was the catalyst for Michigan, scoring a team-high 12 points and three assists to finish the half on a 25-10 run and take a 47-34 lead into the locker room. Michigan held an edge in fastbreak points (15-3) and points in the paint (22-12).
Halftime Score: Michigan 47, Wake Forest 34
Second half
The Wolverines kept their foot on the pedal to start the second half, pushing the pace and coming up with a couple of fast-break dunks. Nimari Burnett found Johnson for an alley-oop and Cadeau threw a no-look pass to Lendeborg for a slam.
Wake Forest fought back into the game, as Juke Harris went on an 8-0 run by himself to trim the deficit to single digits. Even after Harris went to the bench with his fourth foul, Wake Forest eventually tied it 64-64 with just 8:42 left.
Coming out of a timeout, Dusty May drew up a perfect play as Mara connected with Lendeborg for a backdoor dunk to take a 66-64 lead. Just moments later, Mara threw down a dunk of his own to put the Wolverines up 68-67 with 8:00 to go.
However, Wake Forest immediately responded with a 10-1 run, highlighted by Purdue transfer Myles Colvin throwing down a ferocious poster dunk over Cadeau. The Demon Deacons opened up their largest lead of the night (77-70).
The back-and-forth half continued, as Michigan answered with a 7-0 spirt of their own as Gayle drilled a clutch game-tying three-pointer with 1:44 remaining. After a defensive stop, Cadeau hit a go-ahead free throw to take a 78-77 lead.
On the other end, Colvin knocked down a three-pointer to put Wake Forest up 80-78 with 54.5 seconds left. Following a timeout, Michigan was able to tie it again, as Cadeau snuck into the lane for a layup with 36 seconds left.
Overtime
With just 13 seconds remaining in the extra period, Cadeau hit a go-ahead free throw to put the Wolverines up 85-84. Wake Forest had a potential game-winning shot attempt, but it fell off the rim as time expired and Michigan held on.
Final Score: Michigan 85, Wake Forest 84
Michigan stat leaders:
- C Aday Mara: 18 points (8-for-11 FG), 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks
- G Elliot Cadeau: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists
- G Roddy Gayle Jr: 13 points, 3 rebounds
- F Morez Johnson Jr: 10 points, 8 rebounds
Wake Forest stat leaders:
- G Juke Harris: 19 points, 6 rebounds
- G Mekhi Mason: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
- G Myles Colvin: 13 points, 7 rebounds
- G Nate Calmese: 11 points, 5 assists
Up next
The Wolverines will attempt to improve to 3-0 as they head out of state for the first time this season, taking on the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. Michigan took down TCU, 76-64, in Ann Arbor last year.
