8A — Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Defense stands tall late against Longhorns

When Texas’ Tevin Mack 

strutted into the locker room 
after hitting a buzzer-beating 
3-pointer, it looked like it was 
happening again.

The Longhorn guard went on 

a 6-0 individual run in the final 
minute of the first half, reducing 
Michigan’s lead to three. Mack 
himself turned what looked 
like a comfortable halftime 
margin for the Wolverines into 
a 
nightmarish 
flashback 
to 

Michigan’s collapse last week 
against Virginia Tech.

“Again, it was the exact same 

type of action that Virginia Tech 
ran against us,” said Michigan 
coach John Beilein. “It’s a 
dribble-weave with a guy setting 
a screen to get the guy open, and 
we stopped on it again. It was 
the exact same thing.”

Runs at the end of each half 

against the Hokies ultimately 
cost Michigan an important 
home 
non-conference 
win. 

Beilein even called the defense 
the Wolverines played over 
those two stretches “as bad of 
defense we’re played here, ever.”

But, 
unlike 
last 
week, 

Michigan wasn’t relying on 
its defense to stay out of a hole 
against Texas — it had already 
fallen into one, and it needed its 
defense to get it out.

With four minutes remaining, 

facing a three-point deficit and 
an offense that struggled all 
night to ignite, the Wolverines 
needed stops on defense more 
than ever.

And this time, they delivered.
Michigan held Texas to just 

two points in the final four 
minutes, forcing the Longhorns 

to miss four of their final five 
shots. The Wolverine defense 
finally came through in crunch 
time to give Michigan the 53-50 
win.

“Our kids just sat down and 

guarded,” Beilein said. “Nobody 
could make a shot. It wasn’t a 
pretty offensive game. But we 
got it done when we had to get 
it done.”

Leading Michigan’s defensive 

effort were two players who 

were 
absent 
in 
the 
final 

stretch of the Wolverines’ flop 
against Virginia Tech: redshirt 
sophomore forward DJ Wilson 
and 
sophomore 

forward Moritz 
Wagner. 

Wilson fouled 

out with three 
minutes 
to 
go 

last Wednesday, 
but his presence 
on 
the 
court 

this 
time 
may 

have made the 
difference. 
He 

was the one who 
came up with the steal with 
30 seconds left that set up the 
possession in which Michigan 

took its final lead. All night he 
was menacing Texas’ forwards 
on the boards while getting two 
blocks as well.

But 
Wilson’s 

largest 
contribution 
in crunch time 
may have come 
much 
earlier. 

The forward was 
matched up with 
the 
Longhorns’ 

highly 
touted 

forward Jarrett 
Allen, 
who 

entered Tuesday 

averaging 11 points and seven 
rebounds per game.

Wilson proved to be a difficult 

matchup for Allen much of 
the game. Wilson used his 
wingspan to get over the 6-foot-
11 forward and to force him 
into uncomfortable positions 
competing for rebounds that got 
Allen in trouble.

Allen ultimately fouled out 

with 55 seconds to go. The 
impact of having Allen out 
showed itself on the basket when 
the Wolverines took the lead for 
good, as Wagner grabbed an 
offensive rebound and put away 
the winning basket.

Wagner, too, was essential 

in making big defensive plays 
down the stretch.

The most important one came 

in the final seconds, when the 

forward got up and blocked 
Texas forward Eric Davis Jr.’s 
shot, sealing the victory.

“Moe’s block at the end 

was big,” Beilein said. “Moe’s 
blocking shots really for the 
first time in his life … he’s 
learning when he should leave 
his feet, when he shouldn’t, and 
be a bigger presence at the rim.”

Wagner’s 
defensive 

shortcomings 
have 
plagued 

Michigan often in the past. 
But in crunch time against the 
Longhorns, 
the 
sophomore’s 

improvements protecting the rim 
may have saved the Wolverines 
when they needed to hang onto a 
lead for just a few more moments.

“I thought he’s making major 

steps defensively right now,” said 
Beilein. “I was shocked. When 
I wanted to make a defensive 
substitution at the end and put 
Mark in for Moe, Billy said, ‘No, 
Moe is really hedging the ball 
screen well.’ So we stayed with 
him down the stretch.”

Michigan’s complete second-

half defensive performance set 
the tone for what transpired in 
the final minutes.

The Wolverines played smart 

defense, staying out of foul 
trouble. That led to Michigan 
having multiple fouls to give on 
Texas’s final possession in case 
it needed to use them.

The Longhorns were held 

to just 35 percent shooting in 
the final period and struggled 
to find any sort of answer 
offensively that could help them 
come up with the scores they 
needed.

In the end, it was Wilson 

and 
Wagner’s 
resurgence 

that earned Michigan a non-
conference win it had to have.

“You don’t see us win many 

where 
it’s 
just 
about 
our 

defense,” Beilein said. “It was 
gritty, it was tough in the last 
two 
minutes. 
Everything 
it 

wasn’t in Virginia Tech, the last 
two or three minutes, it was 
tonight.”

BRANDON CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner made a crucial block down the stretch to help the Michigan men’s basketball team seal a 53-50 win over Texas on Tuesday.

“We got it 

done when we 

had to get it 

done.”

Michigan tops Texas, 53-50, after scare

With just 14 seconds left in 

its Tuesday night game against 
Texas, 
the 
Michigan 
men’s 

basketball team was desperately 
clinging to a one-point lead. The 
Longhorns had the ball on their 
baseline for a throw-in.

The 
inbounds 
pass 
went 

straight to Texas guard Eric 
Davis Jr., who dribbled the 
ball into the middle and went 
up for what could have been 
the game-winning shot. But 
standing directly in his path 
was sophomore forward Moritz 
Wagner with an impressive 
6-foot-11 frame. Wagner closed 
in on Davis Jr. in a hurry and 

promptly blocked the ball with 
just three ticks left on the clock, 
drawing a deafening roar from 
the Crisler Center crowd as 
Michigan held on for a 53-50 
win.

“I knew that they were trying 

to be aggressive, down one, 
trying to draw a foul or at least 
go to the rim,” Wagner said. “I 
kind of expected that a little bit, 
so I waited until he jumped. … I 
was happy it turned out to be a 
block.”

In the most critical moment of 

the game, Wagner encapsulated 
the defensive effort that the 
Wolverines put forth throughout 
the night in order to dictate the 
run of play and eventually earn 
the victory. 

Against a Texas team known 

for its up-tempo style of play on 
both sides of the ball, Michigan 
knew it would have its work 
cut out for it to keep up with 
the speed and athleticism of its 
opponent.

To match the fast pace of 

Texas, the Wolverines adopted 
an attack-minded defense. They 
went after the Longhorns from 
the opening tip, swarming them 
on every possession. Michigan 
made it tough for them to create 
space and run their offense 
every time they touched the 
ball.

Putting significant pressure 

on them in every man-to-man 
matchup, the Wolverines forced 
10 turnovers in the first half 
alone. Whenever 
a body hit the 
deck to snag a 
bouncing 
ball, 

the jersey that 
turned up with it 
seemed to always 
be maize. 

Outhustling 

Texas all over the 
court, Michigan 
opened 
up 

a 
10-point 

lead in the first half, but a 
buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 
Longhorn guard Tevin Mack 
capped off a six-point run in 
the final minute to reduce the 
Wolverines’ lead to just three.

In the opening five minutes 

of the second half, Texas turned 

the tide on Michigan even 
more. While the Wolverines 
hit a drought, the Longhorns 
made it rain. Scoring 12 points 
to one Wolverine free throw, 
Texas took its first lead of the 

game and forced 
Michigan to call 
a timeout.

With 
the 

Longhorns 
firmly 
putting 

themselves back 
in 
the 
game, 

the 
Wolverines 

picked 
up 
the 

intensity 
that 

had 
served 

them well in the 

game’s opening stanza. With 
a stifling defense that kept it 
neck-and-neck with Texas down 
the stretch, Michigan gave itself 
a chance to win a game in which 
neither offense showed up in a 
major way.

“You don’t see us win many 

(games) where it’s just about 
our defense,” said Michigan 
coach John Beliein. “It was 
gritty, it was tough in the last 
two minutes. …Our kids just sat 
down and guarded, and nobody 
could make a shot. It was not a 
pretty offensive game, but we 
got done what we had to get 
done.”

With Wagner — who finished 

with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 
and that all-important block 
— 
leading 
the 
charge, 
the 

Wolverines 
did 
what 
they 

needed to do in order to win.

“What he shows up as in the 

box score is only a fraction of 
really what he means to this 
team,” said senior guard Duncan 
Robinson. 

“He said multiple times down 

the stretch, just to me, ‘We’re 
going to win this game.’ Having 
that 
reassurance, 
especially 

from a sophomore — he’s mature 
beyond his years.”

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Senior wing Zak Irvin was one of many Wolverines struggling to score on Texas.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Daily Sports Editor

“It was gritty, 
it was tough 
in the last two 

minutes.”

