Wolverines weather early storm, pull away late to take down Scarlet Knights

Piscataway, N.J. — One made field goal over the first eight minutes. An early 10-point deficit. A rocking, raucous Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The start to Thursday night’s matchup against the Scarlet Knights had the makings of a perfect storm that would bury the Wolverines.

Instead, shorthanded Michigan weathered the early trouble, turned the tide with a gusty effort and used a late surge to pull away from Rutgers for a critical 58-45 win.

“We knew it was going to happen. We went into the game expecting to get punched,” said freshman guard Dug McDaniel, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half to go along with five steals and four rebounds.

“They punched first, and we responded well to that.”

BOX SCORE: Michigan 58, Rutgers 45

Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 14 and junior center Hunter Dickinson had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan (16-12, 10-7 Big Ten), which has won five of seven and moved into a tie for third place in the conference standings.

More importantly, the Wolverines continued to gain ground in the bubble pecking order with a disruptive defensive effort and an 18-7 game-ending run over the final 8:39.

After the Scarlet Knights (17-11, 9-8) pulled within 40-38 on a three-point play by Paul Mulcahy with 10:00 left in the second half, it was all Michigan from there. McDaniel poked the ball away from Derek Simpson and drew a goaltending call on a fast-break layup to make it four-point game.

A steal by McDaniel led to a mid-range jumper for junior forward Terrance Williams II. McDaniel swiped another pass and drained a pull-up jumper. By the time Williams capped a string of nine unanswered points with two free throws, Michigan led 57-42 with 54 seconds remaining.

As Michigan’s lead grew, Rutgers couldn’t muster much offense to put a dent in the deficit. Over the final 10 minutes, the Scarlet Knights had more turnovers (five) than made field goals (three). That’s including a layup in the closing seconds when the outcome was already decided.

More: Dug McDaniel answers the call as Michigan continues late-season surge

By the time it was over, Cam Spencer scored 11 and Clifford Omoruyi had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Rutgers, which shot 5-for-16 at the free-throw line and committed 13 turnovers that led to 17 points for Michigan.

“Obviously we didn’t play well enough,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “It was missed opportunities — turnovers, free throws. It's a game of runs. We came out of the blocks pretty good and then they got a run on us.

“We kept fighting back and forth, but I thought the minute we got some momentum we’d turn the ball over, they’d go down and lay it in, and those kinds of things. We just never could get back into it.”

Both teams didn’t roll out their usual starting lineups. Caleb McConnell, last season’s Big Ten defensive player of the year, came off the bench for Rutgers after missing last game with a back injury.

Michigan started grad transfer wing Joey Baker in place of freshman wing Jett Howard (ankle injury), while sophomore forward Will Tschetter made his third consecutive start. Williams returned after missing the last two games with a knee contusion and finished with four points and nine rebounds off the bench.

The Wolverines got off to a dreadful start in the hostile environment, struggled to get anything going offensively against Rutgers’ stingy defense and fell behind by double digits six minutes into the game.

Michigan missed 12 of its first 13 shots, with many attempts coming from beyond the arc. Rutgers, meanwhile, opened 6-for-9 from the field, scored nine unanswered points — highlighted by a fast-break dunk by Omoruyi and an open 3-pointer by McConnell in transition — and grabbed a 13-3 lead with 14:00 left in the first half, forcing an early Michigan timeout.

“Beginning of the game, you get down 13-3 and sometimes guys get down,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “I didn't see doubt in our guys' eyes. I shared with them that this team will go on runs and the crowd is going to get really active and into it. But what we have to do is understand with those runs, we've got to answer by not allowing them to speed us up.”

Despite making just one shot over the first eight-plus minutes, Michigan maintained its poise and recovered with a quick burst. Dickinson snapped Rutgers’ run with a hook shot in the paint and followed that up with a dunk. Bufkin capped the spurt with a corner 3-pointer and driving layup to cut it to 13-12 at the 9:13 mark.

Mulcahy stuffed Michigan’s momentum with a 3-pointer, but the Scarlet Knights could only extend the lead to seven due to their free-throw woes. That allowed the Wolverines hang around before they turned defense into offense and closed the half on a 14-4 run.

Bufkin stripped Mulcahy near midcourt, drew a foul on a fast break and made two free throws. After Baker blocked a shot on defense, Bufkin canned a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. A steal by McDaniel led to a bucket inside by Dickinson that gave Michigan the lead, 22-21, at the 2:37 mark. Then after Baker drew a charge on defense, he drained a corner 3-pointer as the Wolverines took a 26-23 edge into halftime.

“We're fighting for our season,” McDaniel said. “We knew we were going to do whatever it takes to get back in the game. They went their little run, but we didn't let that deter us from making our run.”

Added Bufkin: “We just stayed the course. We had a couple game plan mistakes, and they were able to hit some shots. But after we were able to clean that up, we were able to get back into the game.”

Michigan widened the margin after the break. Baker made Rutgers pay for a second-chance opportunity with a 3-pointer. McDaniel followed a turnover by the Scarlet Knights with a deep jumper. A blocked shot by Tschetter led to a 3-pointer from Dickinson and a 36-28 lead with 14:59 left in the second half.

From there, Rutgers made it a one-possession game three times before Michigan took control late and strung together its second straight victory during a pivotal closing stretch to the season.

“We want to keep grinding one game at a time,” Howard said. “Tonight, there was toughness displayed. There was toughness displayed versus Michigan State (on Saturday). The key is consistency. I know and I trust that our guys are going to continue to keep competing.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins