8A — Friday, November 18, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

NEW YORK CITY — Just over 

three minutes into the opening 
half of the Michigan men’s 
basketball 
team’s 
2K 

Classic 
game 
against 
Marquette, 
Derrick 

Walton Jr. picked up his second 
foul. It was part of a string of 
uncharacteristic errors made by 
the senior guard that forced him 
to spend a majority of the first 
half on the bench.

Behind 
Walton, 
the 

Wolverines 
had 
overcome 

a pair of first-half deficits 
against Howard and IUPUI last 
weekend. But when it became 
a reality Walton wouldn’t have 
that same impact against the 
Golden Eagles on Friday, the 
rest of the team did more than 
its part to make sure the senior’s 
absence wasn’t felt.

After 
being 
tied 
15-15, 

the 
Wolverines 
completely 

overwhelmed 
Marquette 
for 

the remaining 13 minutes of the 
first half, outscoring the Golden 
Eagles by 24 in that stretch en 
route to a 79-61 win.

With freshman guard Xavier 

Simpson 
and 
junior 
guard 

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 
leading 
Michigan’s 
backcourt, 

the Wolverines built up their 
advantage 
without 
Walton 

heading into the second half.

“We have a next man up 

mentality,” said senior guard 
Zak Irvin. “I think that showed. 
We knew it was going to be 
tough once Derrick went out 
with two fouls. But I love that 
(Xavier) came on — you know, 

kind of first road game, neutral 
game whatever you want to 
call it. We didn’t miss a beat. 
We kept it going forward, and I 
think that was huge for us.”

Abdur-Rahkman 
was 

aggressive driving to the basket 
all night, scoring 15 points and 
going a perfect 7-for-7 from the 
free throw line. His scoring 
took the pressure off Simpson, 
who was forced to play more 
than he previously had in his 
college career.

If 
anyone 
embodied 
the 

efficiency Michigan displayed 
all night, it was Irvin. The senior 
ended up leading all scorers with 
16 points. His 5-for-9 shooting 
fell just above the Wolverines’ 
51 percent conversion from the 
field Thursday. Irvin’s offensive 
consistency, combined with seven 
rebounds and five assists, was 
exactly what Michigan expects 
out of its seasoned veteran. Irvin’s 
teammates followed his suit, and 
that powered the Wolverines all 
night.

“I think we all came out 

pretty amped up,” Irvin said. 
“Obviously 
playing 
in 
the 

Garden is a great experience 
for all of us, and we knew it was 
going to kind of be like a home 
game for us, with all the fans 
that travel and come and support 
us, so I think that’s what got us 
off to the start we had.”

Wilson and senior forward 

Mark Donnal built off strong 
outings in Michigan’s opening 
two games and put together a 
pair of complete performances. 
After being handed his first 
start of his career, Wilson 
had 
his 
third 
double-digit 

rebounding night in as many 
games, grabbing 12 boards.

Donnal, 
along 
with 

sophomore 
forward 
Moritz 

Wagner, outsized the Golden 
Eagles at the post. The pair 
combined for 24 points and four 
rebounds, all while giving the 
Wolverines a size advantage 
they had been lacking in similar 
matchups in years past. Both 
bigs also showed off their 
perimeter abilities, each making 
a shot from behind the arc.

“(Wagner’s) more seasoned. 

DJ’s more seasoned. It’s a huge 
lift for us,” said Michigan coach 
John Beilein. “Really those two 
guys were non-factors for us 
last season. It’s more about what 
they do as they develop.”

Despite being benched in 

light of Wilson’s emergence, 
redshirt junior guard Duncan 
Robinson came on and looked 
as confident as ever doing what 
he does best. Robinson was 
3-for-5 from 3-point range, 
boosting 
Michigan’s 
offense 

with 10 points. He helped the 
Wolverines shoot an impressive 
39 percent from behind the arc.

Michigan will have just a 

few hours to admire its win 
before it takes on Southern 
Methodist in the 2K Classic 
final on Friday. The Wolverines 
not only hope to close out their 
first tournament of the season 
with a championship, but also 
to get revenge over a team that 
has handed them a loss in each 
of the previous two seasons.

“This’ll 
be 
a 
great, 
great 

barometer for us right now 
to see where we are,” Beilein 
said. “We’re trying to win a 
championship. We’d love to win 
this championship, get out to a 4-0 
start. But we’re playing an NCAA 
Tournament team (in) SMU.”

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. dribbles past a Marquette defender in Thursday night’s game at the 2K Sports Classic in New York City. Walton contributed a double-double, scoring 10 points and leading Michigan with 12 rebounds.

NEW YORK CITY — Since 

returning to the starting lineup 
after missing the Michigan men’s 
basketball 
team’s 
exhibition 

opener with an ankle injury, junior 
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman has stepped up when 
the Wolverines needed him in 
both games of the 2K Classic’s Ann 
Arbor regional. And his timely 
play traveled with him all the way 
to New York City, as Michigan 
took on Marquette in the semifinal 
round of the tournament at 
Madison Square Garden.

Against Howard last Friday, 

the Wolverines failed to score 
for the opening five minutes of 
the game. Opportunities came 
and went, and Michigan couldn’t 
capitalize, so Abdur-Rahkman 
took matters into his own hands. 
Knocking 
down 
back-to-back 

triples just 30 seconds apart, 
Abdur-Rahkman not only put 
Michigan on the board, but tied 
the game at six to stop the Bison 
in their tracks.

Against IUPUI the following 

Sunday, Abdur-Rahkman played 
all but four minutes for the 
Wolverines, 
finishing 
among 

the team’s top scorers with 12 
points. Adding in two rebounds, 
two steals and a block for good 
measure, Abdur-Rahkman made 
his presence felt all over the floor 
in a comfortable win.

So when senior guard Derrick 

Walton Jr. committed two quick 
fouls and had to sit out the majority 
of the first half Thursday night 
against Marquette, it came as no 
surprise that Abdur-Rahkman 
would be the one to shoulder the 
burden for Michigan.

“With Derrick gone, not only 

did he need to look to score a little 
bit more, he had to run the team 
a little bit with (freshman guard 
Xavier Simpson),” said Michigan 
coach John Beilein. “(Simpson) is 
still getting some of the timing on 

some of our stuff, and so he was 
really running like half a point 
guard at that time.

“So as he was out there, 

that was what I was thinking 
— ‘All right, if we ever have 
these injuries again, or we 
have two point guards out, can 
Muhammad fulfill this role?’ And 
he did at times today.”

In an opening half in which 

the Wolverines simply ran away 
from the Golden Eagles, Abdur-
Rahkman guided the offensive 
explosion by assuming the point 
guard role and facilitating the 
run of play. While Michigan led 
by double digits for much of that 
stretch, Abdur-Rahkman poured 
in 11 points, seven of which came 
from the free-throw line.

Adopting a more aggressive 

approach than he has shown so 
far this season, Abdur-Rahkman 
pressured Marquette’s defense 
relentlessly. Driving to the basket 

continuously, he cut through 
the Golden Eagles left and right 
to open up space in the middle 
for himself and his teammates. 
His up-tempo tone fed into 
his defensive mindset as well, 
forcing a pair of steals to launch 
counterattacks on the other end.

“I think Muhammad did a 

great job bringing the ball up, 
getting us set on offense and also 
being aggressive as well,” said 
senior forward Zak Irvin. “So 
it’s huge when you have other 
players who can step up when 
Derrick isn’t in the game.”

By the time the half came to 

its conclusion, the Wolverines 
held a 50-26 advantage and never 
looked back. Though Abdur-
Rahkman scored just four points 
in the second half, he had already 
done his part, as Michigan 
emerged with a 79-61 victory to 
advance to the championship 
round of the 2K Classic.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Daily Sports Editor

BRANDON CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer

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GRANT HARDY/Daily

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 15 points in the win Thursday.

Michigan routs Marquette, advances to tourney final Friday
Abdur-Rahkman steps up at guard in Wolverines’ victory

