Notes & Quotes: Michigan 103, Oakland 87
12/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
N O T E S
With the 103-87 win against Oakland, Michigan snapped a four-game losing streak. The win over the Golden Grizzlies improved U-M to 4-1 in the all-time series. The Maize and Blue have won all four games against Oakland at Crisler Arena.
With 103 points against Oakland, Michigan set a new season high as a team. The Wolverines prior best was 82 against Radford (Nov. 9) in the season opener. Michigan's 103 points against the Golden Grizzlies marked the third game this season U-M has scored 70 or more points -- (Radford [82] and Brown [72, Nov. 11]).
With 103 points against Oakland, Michigan hit the century mark for the first time in nine years. The last time U-M hit the century mark was in a 112-64 win at Crisler Arena against Indiana on Feb. 22, 1998.
Michigan posted 55 points in the first half against Oakland. It marked the first 50-plus point half for the Wolverines in seven years, as U-M had 50 against Wagner on Nov. 25, 2000. The Maize and Blue won that contest, 98-83.
With his start against Oakland, senior Ron Coleman extended his consecutive games played streak to 109. He has not missed a single game in four years. In addition, sophomore Ekpe Udoh extended his own streak, playing in his 45th straight game for the Wolverines.
Ekpe Udoh earned his second start of the season and the ninth of career against Oakland. Michigan's full starting lineup for the second straight game was Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady in the backcourt, DeShawn Sims and Ron Coleman at the forwards and Ekpe Udoh at center.
With starts against Oakland, freshmen Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady have started all 10 games for the Wolverines this season in the backcourt.
With his three blocks, Ekpe Udoh has recorded at least one block in all 10 games this season and in his last 12 games for U-M. He has nine multi-block games this season and 31 for his career. Overall he has 99 total blocks in his young career, which puts him among the Michigan all-time top 10. He is ninth all time with 99 and needs just one more block to become the ninth Wolverine with 100 in a career.
With his 11 points against Oakland, Ekpe Udoh posted his second double figure scoring game this season. It gives him the sixth double digit performance in his career. Udoh netted his second career three-pointer en route to 11 points against the Grizzlies.
With his career-high 24 points against Oakland, Manny Harris posted his ninth double figure scoring performance in 10 games this season. He opened the season by scoring in double digits in the first eight games. It also marked the third 20-plus point game of his career -- Brown (22, Nov. 11) and Western Kentucky (22, Nov. 23).
Manny Harris tied his career best with eight rebounds against Oakland. He also had eight boards against Western Kentucky (Nov. 24).
With his 22 points against Oakland, DeShawn Sims has scored in double figures in each of his last five games. Overall he has scored in double digits in eight of 10 games this season. It also marked the second 20-plus point game of his career (Radford, 23 on Nov. 9).
With his 6-for-7 free throw performance against OU, DeShawn Sims set career highs for free throws made and attempted. His prior bests were five makes against Army (Dec. 28, 2006) and six attempts against Georgetown (Dec. 30, 2006).
With his nine points against Oakland, K'Len Morris posted a career high for points in a game. He finally passed his prior best of five points, which he has had three times in his career, including the Wolverines' last game at Duke (Dec. 8).
With 10 points against Oakland, Jevohn Shepherd posted his first career double figure scoring game to set a new career best. His prior best was nine at Purdue on Feb. 11, 2006.
Zack Gibson set a new career best with three blocks against Oakland. He had a previous best of two at Harvard (Dec. 1) and against Brown (Nov. 11). He also tied a career-best with six rebounds against the Golden Grizzlies, which he has had against Boston College (Nov. 28) and Brown (Nov. 11).
C.J. Lee had a career-high four assists against Oakland. He topped his prior best of three, which he has posted three times in his career.
Q U O T E S
Senior Wing Ron Coleman
On the win..."We came out strong. It was a great team effort. I think a lot of guys contributed tonight and helped out in a lot of ways."
On the importance of the win... "It was important for us to come home and get a win under our belts. We've been in a little bit of a slump but I was proud of the guys who stepped up tonight and took on another challenge."
Junior Guard CJ Lee
On the execution... "It was good to get a win. We knew Oakland was going to come in a try to kick the pace up a little bit. Coach brought it to our attention that they were going crank the pace up but we just wanted to combat that by getting out in transition, getting some easy buckets and knocking down our.shots."
Sophomore Forward DeShawn Sims
On the offense starting to come together... "We've just had time to practice. We've been practicing and experiencing a lot. We went to Duke and faced some of the best pressure in the country. We've been practicing since that game with that type of pressure on us and that just helps our offense evolve."
Head Coach John Beilien
On Snapping the four-game losing streak... "It's a much needed win for us from the stand point that the whole year while you have young players, they have those days where they get their confidence. So today is a lot more confidence going into our next game."
On the biggest improvement in this game... "We had twenty assists and thirty-four baskets -- that number is something that is pretty, but will be higher eventually, I don't know about thirty-four baskets, but it's a great number. We're starting to see where if you drive it and you look and you share, somebody else might be more open than you."
On Ekpe Udoh in the starting line-up... "I think they had a plan -- they usually go inside out as much as they can and he blocked some shots. We had six out of our big guys, but it is the shots he changes that are very important. He's a major difference maker and I love the energy that he plays with."
On C.J. Lee's performance... "He's one of the guys that is not afraid to lead; he's not afraid to speak and talk (and) sort of coach on the floor. That's how you like your point guards to be."
