4B — January 12, 2015 SportsMonday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ‘M’ rallies past Gophers, moves to 3-1 in Big Ten Wolverines shake slow start, close out Minnesota at home By LEV FACHER Managing Editor The Michigan men’s basketball team attempted eight 3-pointers in the first half of its 62-57 victory over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. It made none. But the Wolverines made up for their long-range struggles, and then some, in the second half, culminating in a trey from sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. that brought the Crisler Center crowd to its feet with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The shot and the ensuing three-turnover sequence gave the lead back to Michigan after a 14-minute stretch in which the Golden Gophers held the advantage. Though the game, at that point, hadn’t gone the Wolverines’ way, the final nine minutes played out exactly as they drew them up in the timeout huddle. “It was a little bit of everyone (talking in the huddle),” said junior guard Spike Albrecht. “The main message being, ‘We need three straight stops.’ Get stops, and get out and run an offense.” It was an afternoon of oddity in Ann Arbor, but that didn’t stop the Wolverines from orchestrating their comeback, which began with 8:56 remaining in the game and Minnesota leading by nine. The head-scratching moments included sophomore guard Zak Irvin backing down a Minnesota defender and getting whistled for a charge while he attempted to finish a fast break. Also included were freshman forward Ricky Doyle missing the front end of the rim by several inches on a first-half free throw but later banking in a foul shot. To top off the often-sloppy, nonsensical play, freshman forward Kameron Chatman twice fouled the Golden Gophers’ Andre Hollins on 3-point attempts. Hollins went 5-for-6 on the resulting free throws. Hollins remained a thorn in the Wolverines’ side throughout, as he finished with 18 points. The Gophers’ Carlos Morris added 16 points of his own on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. If Minnesota had passed the ball as well as it shot it, the game might not have been close. But the Golden Gophers continually provided Michigan an open door to victory by coughing up the basketball with regularity. The Golden Gophers finished with 17 turnovers, baffling their second- year coach, Richard Pitino. “Those turnovers were inexplicable,” Pitino said. “We didn’t allow ourselves to win the game. … We will not beat anybody — home, road, neutral — if you do that.” But despite the 17 turnovers, Michigan finished with just 11 points in offensive transition. “We just didn’t convert,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “I’m a bit concerned right now about our fast break — we’ve got to be better at it, and we’ve got to work at it more. We’ve spent so much time in defensive transition, (but) we’ve got to be better in offensive transition.” It wasn’t just the transition offense that struggled, especially in the early going. Michigan showed only sparks of offensive cohesion in the first period, with one flash of brilliance coming when Albrecht left Doyle alone at the rim with a sneaky one-handed dish. Doyle finished with an emphatic two-handed reverse dunk that gave a previously quiet crowd a rare moment of excitement. But for most of the half, the Wolverines had trouble scoring simply because of 10-for-28 shooting from the field. Of the made shots, just three came from outside the paint. Trailing by seven, Walton drained a pair of foul shots, forced a Minnesota turnover and used a lightning-quick crossover at midcourt to set up an alley-oop layup to Irvin. A Minnesota turnover forced Pitino to take a timeout, which Doyle followed with an and- one layup. Fittingly, he banked in the free throw, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 49-47. Michigan fought tooth and nail to hold onto its narrow lead in the game’s final minutes. Doyle drove the nail into the coffin with an emphatic dunk that put the Wolverines up 59-55. Irvin attributed the offensive improvement in the second half largely to Michigan finally cracking the Golden Gophers’ defensive front. “We just turned it around, tried to get in the paint,” Irvin said. “And if they put us in there, then we can kick it out.” The kick-outs led to vastly improved shooting in the second half — the Wolverines went 4-for-10 from beyond the arc in the second half, a far cry from their eight fruitless first- half attempts. Walton and LeVert tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points each, followed by Doyle and Irvin with 12 apiece. Walton takes over second half By DANIEL FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor Derrick Walton Jr. didn’t come to Michigan, according to Michigan coach John Beilein, as a scorer. The sophomore guard took over the reigns of the point guard position last season from Trey Burke, and was surrounded by a bevy of offensive weapons around him to ease his progression into the Wolverines’ system. This season, however, things are different for the Michigan men’s basketball team. Walton has to create opportunities for himself as frequently as he needs to create opportunities for others. If he looked to pass only, the Wolverines’ offense just wouldn’t flow. “He came to us as a pass-first guy,” Beilein said. “And while we love that, if everyone was just playing to pass, you’re not going to find anybody open. So, we want him to be more aggressive shooting the ball.” With 38 seconds left in Michigan’s 62-57 win over Minnesota Saturday, Walton had a choice coming out of a Wolverine timeout. According to Beilein, four options existed for Michigan, which held a two- point lead. With Caris LeVert on the floor, surely one option was for the lanky junior guard to get the ball at some point during the possession. However, the play that Michigan (3-1 Big Ten, 10-6 overall) and Walton executed was something that Michigan had never pulled off before, even in practice. As Walton drove towards the foul line, he lifted the ball in his right hand upward at the hoop, offering the deceiving look of a hook shot. When he lofted the ball in the air, freshman Ricky Doyle flew in to grab the ball with two hands before throwing it down for the dunk, giving Michigan a four-point lead. For the guard that was once so pass-centric, it was the threat of a shot that allowed Walton to pull off the pass. “I love that he turned his shoulders on the last one, got down at the foul line and just threw up a hook shot,” Beilein said. Added Walton: “All season, Ricky has just been finishing in a crowd, so of course I have confidence throwing it to my big fella.” For his partner in the backcourt, the explanation was simpler for Walton’s pass and general excellent play in the game, especially in the second half. “That was D-Walt going to work,” said junior guard Spike Albrecht. “He just kind of took over in that second half.” Totaling 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, Walton looked like his old self, not someone still suffering from a sprained toe. Making three out of Michigan’s four 3-pointers of the game, Walton resembled the fast- on-his-feet thinker and player that he’s been known to be. “Derrick was playing like we remember Derrick playing,” Beilein said. “He’s not 100 percent healthy, but he was healthier today.” While the timetable for Walton to return to full health is unknown, Michigan will need to rely more than ever on his intangibles and creativity, whether he practices or not. “We haven’t done that in a game or a practice yet with it completed as a dunk,” Beilein said. “We practice it a lot, like once a week, but we haven’t done it in (a game). “That took a lot of courage to do that. And I’m so happy we did it — make or miss, it was the right play.” RUBY WALLAU/Daily Derrick Walton Jr. tied for the team lead with 15 points and threw a late alley-oop pass to Ricky Doyle to clinch the win. MEN’S BASKETBALL