Michigan
7-4,1-1Big Ten
Southern Utah
7-4,2-0Big Sky
First-Half Runs Pace Michigan in Win Over Southern Utah
12/18/2021 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» The Wolverines earned their seventh win of the season with an 87-50 victory over Southern Utah.
» Hunter Dickinson recorded his fourth straight double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds).
» DeVante' Jones made a trio of three-pointers and scored 13 points.
• Watch: Juwan Howard Postgame Press Conference
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 87, Southern Utah 50
Records: U-M (7-4), SUU (7-4)
Next U-M Event: Tuesday, Dec. 21 -- vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Crisler Center), 7 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Three big first-half runs lifted the University of Michigan men's basketball team to an 87-50 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday night (Dec. 18) at Crisler Center.
U-M shot 56.3 percent (36-for-64) from the field, and scored 48 points in the paint against the Thunderbirds. In all, 11 Wolverines scored, with the bench collecting 33 points.
Sophomore Hunter Dickinson recorded his fourth straight double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points and adding 10 rebounds. DeVante' Jones had 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including three makes from three-point land while dishing out a team-best six assists. Freshman Moussa Diabate had eight points and eight rebounds, while Caleb Houstan added nine points with, and Kobe Bufkin added 11 points off the bench on 4-for-9 shooting.
Michigan (7-4) made five straight shots early with three makes from Jones to take an 11-7 advantage into the first media break with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Coming out of the break, the Wolverine offense struck again, rattling off a 14-0 run with dunks from Dickinson and Diabate to carry a 25-10 advantage.
Frankie Collins and Jones hit back-to-back triples to put U-M ahead by 17, 31-14, with 8:37 left in the opening stanza at Crisler Center. In a half comprised of Michigan runs, the Wolverines posted another 14 straight points while keeping Southern Utah (7-4) scoreless for more than five minutes to extend its lead to 45-16 with two minutes left in the half.
The Wolverines finished the half on 6-for-7 shooting and took a 49-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. Dickinson went 8-for-9 from the field for 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds, three of which were offensive. Jones scored 13 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.
U-M shot 63.6 percent (21-for-33) from the field and 41.7 percent (5-for-12) from three-point range. The Wolverines scored 24 points in the paint and added nine second-chance points in the first half.
In the second half, Michigan worked its lead to 35 points on two straight Diabate dunks with just under 13 minutes to play in the contest. The Wolverine defense did not allow Southern Utah to put together any offensive runs of its own over the closing 12 minutes of the game and cleared its bench as it sailed to victory.
Michigan will be back in action Tuesday (Dec. 21) when it welcomes Purdue Fort Wayne to Crisler Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
