Denver, CO–Fans packed into Ball Arena to watch day 2 of the tournament Saturday in Denver as the No.5 seed Michigan Wolverines took on the No.4 seed Texas A&M Aggies.
Michigan opened the game controlling the post and setting the tone for the contest. In the first 10 minutes of the half, 12 of 18 Michigan points came from the paint with a score of 18-17 Michigan. Wade Taylor IV had trouble getting in the game, picking up his 2nd foul early, sending him to the bench for what would seem like most of the 1st half.
Texas A&M was able to continue scoring with Pharel Payne attacking the rim relentlessly to find his shot and get offensive rebounds. Going into the 2-minute mark, Taylor didn’t score but the team was able to get points from the bench extending their lead by 4 points ending the half 39-35 Texas A&M.
Both teams shot 36% from the field but Michigan missed their last 7 shots of the half and was held scoreless the last 2 minutes. The Aggie bench outscored the Michigan bench 22-8, largely led by Pharrel Payne’s game high 14 points.
After 6 ties and 7 lead changes in the first, the two teams retook the floor to determine who was moving on and who’s season was coming to an end. After a quick bucket by Danny Wolf of Michigan, the aggies would go onto a 9-2 run extending their lead to 9 before the momentum would start to even out.
From that point on the ball seemed to bounce Michigan’s way. The deficit stayed up by 10 several trips down the court before a 3-point play from Danny Wolf sparked a run of 5 straight baskets cutting the lead to 4 with 11:15 left in the half. A Monster jam alley-oop from Taylor to Payne caused an eruption but Michigan would answer with 4 straight free throws.
After an offensive rebound, Roddy Gayle Jr would get the ball kicked out to him, knocking down a 3-point shot to score his 20th point of the game and close the gap to a 1-point game at 70-69.
In the next trip down the court, Gayle continued making his presence felt by taking the lead with a pair of free throws to bring the game at 71-70. That was the major turning point of the contest as Michigan went on outscoring Texas A&M in the last 6:08.
Roddy Gayle Jr was the ultimate difference maker in the game, scoring 21 of his 26 points in the 2nd half, shooting 50% from the field and making 4 of 6 3-pointers. After the game Michigan head coach Dustin May called Roddy “a starter that just didn’t have his number called” adding he believed their starting 5 had “four playmakers and one of the best bigs”, “when the group is locked in on something, they can go out and do it”.
Michigan’s goal will be to stay focused and get locked in to play the winner of (9) Creighton and (1) Auburn in round 3 on Friday March 28th.
