4B — December 5, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan throttles Kennesaw State

John Beilein said the defense 

in the last four minutes of each 
half in the Michigan men’s 
basketball 
team’s 
73-70 
overtime 
loss against Virginia Tech on 
Wednesday night was “some of 
the worst defense (he’d) ever 
seen.”

For 
the 
Michigan 
head 

coach and his team, Saturday 
afternoon’s 
start 
against 

Kennesaw State (3-6) wasn’t 
much better.

The Owls took advantage of 

a couple missed assignments 
by Michigan and coupled them 
with some big shots to start 
the game strong. At one point, 
Kennesaw State found itself up 
by two with 11:15 remaining in 
the first half. But the Wolverines 
(6-2) righted the ship after that, 
beating the Owls, 82-55.

“We bounced back today,” 

Beilein said. “We answered 
(Kennesaw 
State’s) 
first 
10 

minutes 
when 
they 
played 

straight up.”

Unlike the last four minutes 

of Wednesday’s game, though, 
Michigan’s offense played much 
better, shooting 57.1 percent in 
the first half.

After 
a 
big 
night 
for 

sophomore 
forward 
Moritz 

Wagner against Virginia Tech 
that saw him score 11 points on 
5-of-6 shooting, he followed it 
up with another strong offensive 
performance. Wagner put up 14 
points in the first half to lead 
Michigan and ended the game 
with a career-high 20 on 7-of-8 
shooting, which included 3-of-4 
from beyond the arc.

But Wagner was quick to point 

out the Wolverines’ defensive 
prowess.

“I’m very happy about the 

(scoring) obviously,” Wagner said. 

“But I’m more happy about how 
we got out there defensively.”

“They usually score a good 

amount of points, in the 80s, and 
we held them down to 55.”

Kennesaw State held serve 

for most of the first half, much 
to the credit of 
guard Kendrick 
Ray, who led all 
scorers in the 
opening period 
with 15 points. 
Ray 
finished 

with 24 points.

“(Ray 
is) 
a 

really 
talented 

player,” 
Beilein 

said. “A fifth-year 
guy, averaging 22 
points per game, and he’s one of 
the better guards we’ll see this 
year in terms of scoring guards.”

The Wolverines started to 

pull away with just under five 
minutes remaining in the first 

half. Wagner rattled home a 
3-pointer with 4:29 to go in the 
half, initiating a 17-2 run from 
which the Owls couldn’t ever 
fully recovered. Michigan led, 
47-29, at halftime.

The Wolverines carried their 

solid 
defense 

into the second 
half, when they 
held 
Kennesaw 

State 
to 
no 

points for almost 
five 
minutes. 

Michigan 
limited the Owls 
to just 26 points 
total 
in 
the 

second frame.

After redshirt 

sophomore forward DJ Wilson 
registered just two points and 
one rebound Wednesday against 
Virginia Tech before fouling 
out, he responded with 15 points 
and 11 rebounds for his second 

career double-double.

“I like that (Wilson) has some 

athleticism and a desire to get in 
there and mix it up,” Beilein said. 
“For him to get a double-double, 
it’s good that he’s mixing it up. 
That was not happening a couple 
years ago. He was drifting out by 
the (3-point line).”

And after putting up 23 points 

on Wednesday, senior forward 
Zak Irvin replicated his offensive 
performance, scoring 19 points, 
with many of his points coming 
on drives to the basket.

Saturday marked the second 

time that the Wolverines have 
emphatically responded to a 
crushing loss in their young 
season. And with Texas and 
No. 11 UCLA, which upset No. 1 
Kentucky on Saturday, looming 
in the upcoming week, the 
question for Michigan will be if 
it can replicate its performance 
in the next couple games.

Late first-half run lifts Wolverines to bounce-back victory at Crisler Center

EVAN AARON/Daily

Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner poured in a career-high 20 points Saturday against Kennesaw State.

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

“We answered 

(Kennesaw 
State’s) first 
10 minutes.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wagner helps put 
‘M’ back on track

Last Saturday, coming off 

its first loss to South Carolina, 
the Michigan men’s basketball 
team needed someone to lead 
the way in order to put up a 
strong response in its next 
game against Mount St. Mary’s. 
The Wolverines found their 
man in sophomore forward 
Moritz Wagner, who rose to 
the occasion with a 13-point 
performance — the second-
highest total of the night — in a 
64-47 win.

Providing 
the 
aggressive 

inside presence Michigan sorely 
missed against the Gamecocks, 
Wagner went 5-for-8 from the 
floor with six rebounds and 
two blocks, in addition to going 
3-for-5 from downtown.

On Saturday, coming off 

a 
stunning 
73-70 
loss 
to 

Virginia Tech, the Wolverines 
needed another boost against 
Kennesaw State. This time, the 
same story came to fruition, and 
then some.

Wagner 
topped 
himself 

against the Owls, setting a new 
career high with 20 points, as 
Michigan 
easily 
dispatched 

Kennesaw State, 82-55.

“I just try to stay focused 

regardless of the opponent, 
regardless of the situation, and 
especially after a loss,” Wagner 
said. “It’s very important for me 
that the team comes out strong 
and shows strength because a 
loss can happen, but two losses 
hurt way more. So I’m happy we 
could make these adjustments.”

Scoring 14 of those points in 

the first half alone to exceed his 
tally from a week ago, he led 
the Wolverines in the category. 
Often finding himself open on 
the perimeter, Wagner didn’t 
hesitate to pull the trigger. 
Almost 
half 
of 
his 
points 

came from distance, where he 
finished 3-for-4, including a trey 
to open the game and set the 
tone for the afternoon. But he 
was quick to deflect the credit 
to his teammates for creating 
space for him to operate.

“They’re all very aggressive 

(and) they’re all very talented,” 
Wagner said. “It doesn’t give 
the defense a lot of opportunity 
to focus on a certain guy. … The 
spacing and the way we move, 
it’s just really hard to guard.”

With 
a 
more 
aggressive 

approach going to the basket 
once again, Wagner took charge 
of the middle. He went after 
Kennesaw State, slicing his 
way through the defense and 
imposing his will in the post. 
Three of his points also came 
from the charity stripe.

While 
the 
offense 
isn’t 

designed 
to 
run 
through 

him, Wagner has a knack for 
making his own opportunities. 
Michigan coach John Beilein 
has a plethora of offensive 
weapons to choose from, and 
Wagner may not have been 
considered one of the top 
options before the season began, 
but he is starting to change that 
narrative.

“He’s got a great ability to 

both shoot from the outside 
(and) drive a little bit, and 
we’re just trying to find these 
windows that we could use him 
offensively,” Beilein said. “He’s 
just maturing as a player.”

Though he is still figuring out 

his role on the team, his play at the 
‘5,’ which Beilein called “one of 
the most difficult, if not the most 
difficult, positions on the court,” 
has become crucially important to 
the Wolverines of late.

Playing a starring role in both 

games to help Michigan bounce 
back from tough losses, Wagner 
has come up big when the 
Wolverines needed him the most.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Daily Sports Editor

KENN. STATE
MICHIGAN 

55
82

THE MICHIGAN 

DAILY TOP-10 POLL 

2. OHIO STATE: Rural Meyer. 
LOL, get it?

1. ALABAMA: Bama in the 
playoffs is as inevitable as 
death itself. You know it’s 
coming, and it’s not fun for 
anyone involved.

9. USC: The Trojans had to 
watch two teams they beat 
play for the conference title 
on Saturday. Can you even 
imagine?

3. CLEMSON: They’re in the 
playoff, but rumor has it the 
Tigers are about to trade 
J.D. Martinez and Justin 
Verlander.

6. PENN STATE: Strange that 
the best team in the Big Ten is 
this low in the rankings.

5. MICHIGAN: At least the 
Lions will make the playoffs...

7. OKLAHOMA: Baker 
Mayfield is coming back next 
year, because missing one CFP 
just wasn’t enough.

4. WASHINGTON: Browning… 
in the Peach Bowl… playing a 
bruising defense… yeah we’ve 
got nothing.

8. WISCONSIN: The Badgers 
are without a paddle after their 
last loss. Luckily, they face 
Western Michigan next.

10. WESTERN MICHIGAN: 
Kalamazoo is looking like a 
much more attractive landing 
spot for Brian Kelly after his 
inevitable firing.

Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with 
first-place votes receiving 10 points, second-place 

votes receiving nine and so on. 

to a tie at 19. With Oregon 
leading 23-22, Kieffer-Wright 
put away two kills to put the 
Wolverines a point away, and 
junior outside hitter Carly 
Skjodt then punctuated the set 
with a block to finish off the 
tense, back-and-forth affair.

“We spent a lot of the 

season one or two points 
behind,” said freshman setter 
MacKenzi Welsh. “So we’ve 
gotten really good from those 
small deficits. That block was 
a huge turning point for us, 
and we’ve practiced that all 
season.”

However, 
the 
Ducks 

weren’t finished, starting the 
fourth set by roaring to a 6-2 
lead. But as always, Michigan 
was 
undeterred, 
rattling 

off the next five points and 
eventually going on top by 
as much as five, picking up 
intensity with every rally.

At 21-17, the Wolverines 

began their final push. Skjodt 
stepped back to serve and 
drilled two consecutive aces 
to bring the Wolverines a point 
away, and Davis closed out 
the hard-fought match with a 
kill to clinch Michigan’s first 
appearance in the Round of 16 
since 2012.

With 
the 
win, 
the 

Wolverines 
will 
travel 
to 

Austin, Texas, to take on 
Creighton on Dec. 9, with 
the winner of that matchup 
playing either No. 5 Texas or 
BYU for a place in the Final 
Four.

“I’m really proud of how 

our players looked after (the 
first set),” Rosen said. “We 
served really aggressively, we 
out-assisted them, we started 
defending them and we made 
some really good adjustments 
with blocking because they 
were picking us apart a little 
bit. I’m just really proud of 
how we fought through.”

“Fought through” is an 

apt description of Michigan’s 
performance on Friday night. 
It was a slugfest between two 
talented teams, and at no point 
was it easy. But the Wolverines 
earned the right to continue 
their season.

VOLLEYBALL
From Page 1B
Home crowd sparks victory

With the second set tied 

at one, junior middle blocker 
Claire Kieffer-Wright hurried 
from the middle of the court 
to the right side, swung herself 
into the air and came down 
mercilessly on the volleyball, 
burying it past the Oregon 
players to bring a 2000-strong 
Crisler Center crowd to life.

And Kieffer-Wright didn’t 

stop there: She assisted on a 
block and followed with two 
consecutive kills en route to a 
9-1 run. The shift led to three 
consecutive set victories and 
an eventual 3-1 win for the 
Michigan volleyball team in 
the second round of the NCAA 
Tournament, advancing to the 
Sweet Sixteen.

Throughout 
a 
victorious 

opening stanza for the Ducks, 
Oregon’s 
bench 
and 
small 

contingent of fans were able 
to match the yells and cheers 
of the Wolverines and the 
home crowd Friday night. “Go 
Blue” chants were silenced 
by the performance of the 
Ducks’ attackers and a sloppy 
set from Michigan, which had 
a 
lackluster 
19.4 
attacking 

percentage on 12 kills in its first 
set defeat of the championship.

“On the first set, they really 

attacked us from the right side,” 
Kieffer-Wright said. “But once 
we made our adjustments, I 
think (the second) was a good 
turning point for us.”

Oregon, however, commanded 

the start of the fourth set by 
jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. 
Enter Kieffer-Wright, who once 
again came in off the bench to 
block two shots and kill two 
more hits, giving the Wolverines 
an 8-6 lead and forcing a Ducks’ 
timeout and corresponding roars 
from the crowd.

“Obviously, 
it’s 
a 
big 

advantage playing at home,” 
said senior middle blocker 
Abby Cole. “(The crowd) was 
just a reminder that we’re at 
home, and this is our house 
— that’s kind of a pride thing. 
We’re not going to be beaten in 

our house.”

Shifting 
the 
match’s 

momentum 
at 
the 
most 

vulnerable points for Michigan 
— both after the team was down 
a set and when Oregon looked 
poised to force a tie-breaking 
fifth frame — was just part of the 
night for Kieffer-Wright, who 
set career highs with 20 kills 
on a 72 attacking percentage. 
But the junior doesn’t want to 
limit, or dwell upon, the best 
match of her Wolverine career, 
statistically.

“I think it was a good one, but 

there’s more to come,” Kieffer-
Wright said. “I don’t want to 
hang my hat on this match, 
but I’m happy that we got the 
win. I think it’s just a credit to 
my team. I couldn’t get 20 kills 
without a great setter, a great 
defense and all of their support.

“I’m really excited for what’s 

to come.”

Michigan coach Mark Rosen 

noted that the middle blocker’s 
effort opened doors for other 
players to contribute as well.

“Individually, Claire did an 

unbelievable job of just finding 
ways to get kills — she’s really 
efficient,” Rosen said. “And 
then that fed everybody else 
because (Oregon) had to focus 
too much on her, it just opened 
everything else up.”

Freshman 
middle 
blocker 

Cori Crocker and Cole added 
seven and 11 kills, respectively, 
while sophomore outside hitter 
Carly Skjodt killed eight hits of 
her own.

With the victory, Michigan 

will travel to Austin, Texas, for 
a match against Creighton in 
the NCAA Regional Semifinals 
on Friday. Much to the elation 
of the Wolverines, the Blue 
Jays upset No. 5 Kansas in the 
second round, making the path 
to a national championship 
at least seemingly easier for 
Michigan.

And while the home crowd 

won’t be with the Wolverines 
for 
the 
remainder 
of 
the 

postseason, Kieffer-Wright will 
— and that could just be enough 
to spark Michigan to a deep run 
in the NCAA Tournament.

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Claire Kieffer-Wright (left) and Michigan stifled Oregon at Crisler Center.

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer