Michigan
11-0,2-0Big Ten
La Salle
4-9,0-0Atlantic 10
McKenney Leads Wolverines in Holiday Hoops Double-Header
12/21/2025 7:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The second-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team doubled up on La Salle in a Winter Break battle, earning a 102-50 victory on Sunday (Dec. 21) at Crisler Center.
Leaders and Best
Trey McKenney led the Wolverines in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with 17 points -- 11 of which came in the first half -- while hitting all three of his three-point attempts before halftime. Elliot Cadeau added 14 points, 13 in the first half, and also connected on three triples. Aday Mara notched his fourth double-double of the season, going 5-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the line while snagging 10 rebounds. L.J. Cason posted a season-high 13 points on three triples and two two-point field goals, along with three rebounds and four assists. Morez Johnson Jr. rounded out Michigan's double-digit scorers with 10 points, adding four rebounds and three steals.
First Half
Cadeau opened the scoring for the Wolverines (11-0), drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key over a La Salle (4-9) defender. On the next possession, Nimari Burnett created a turnover and dished to a driving Yaxel Lendeborg for a layup to take the lead. After the teams traded baskets, Michigan pushed ahead by seven, helped by four made free throws and a McKenney corner three. McKenney stayed hot, burying another triple from the right wing at the 12:22 mark.
La Salle's aggressive defense led to early foul trouble, and Michigan reached the bonus before the under-12 timeout and the double bonus after a Mara and-one at the 9:30 mark. Nineteen of Michigan's first 31 points came off 10 early Explorer turnovers.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Cadeau gave him double figures in just nine minutes as Michigan built a 17-point lead entering the under-eight timeout. A competitive stretch followed before Will Tschetter added a three-pointer off a Cason assist with 4:02 left. Michigan carried a 21-point lead into halftime, recording its third-highest first-half total this season, with seven Wolverines assisting on 12 of 16 field goals.
Second Half
Michigan opened the second half with layups on its first two possessions. Mara delivered an overhead pass to Johnson Jr. for a finish, followed by a Lendeborg steal and assist to Burnett for his first points. The Wolverines continued to dominate the paint, with their first five makes of the half coming inside, highlighted by a Lendeborg slam to extend the lead to 30. A 16-2 run pushed the margin to 35 at the 12-minute mark.
The Wolverines held La Salle without a field goal for nearly six minutes, fueling an 11-0 run that included three layups and another Tschetter three-pointer. Winters Grady knocked down a corner triple, and Oscar Goodman added a putback to increase the lead to 51. Grady hit a pair of free throws before Howard Eisley Jr. connected from the corner to push Michigan past 100 points for the second straight game and sixth time this season. U-M's paint defense was dominant, with all six blocks coming after halftime. The Wolverines allowed just four points in the paint and held La Salle to 20.8 percent shooting on two-point attempts.
What's Next
Michigan hosts McNeese next Monday (Dec. 29) at 7 p.m. on B1G+ to close the home non-conference slate.
Game Notes
• Today marked just the second time in program history -- and the first time in nearly 90 years -- that Michigan faced two schools from Philadelphia's "Big 5" (La Salle, Villanova, Saint Joseph's, Drexel, Pennsylvania) in the same season. In 1933, U-M played Penn and Temple five days apart, falling 32-25 on Dec. 16 and 40-32 on Dec. 21.
• La Salle head coach Darris Nichols and Michigan head coach Dusty May previously coached together at Florida from 2015 to 2018.
• Michigan has now shot 45 percent or better from three in four games this season, including two straight.
• La Salle's 50 points were the fewest allowed by Michigan this season.
• Johnson Jr. recorded his eighth double-digit scoring game of the year and is tied with Lendeborg for most such outings.
• Michigan has scored 100 or more points in five of its last six games and six times overall this season.
• The Wolverines have scored 50 or more points in 10 of 22 halves this season, including seven of the last 12.
