Amaker’s bunch seemed greatly energized coming off the nail biter against
Butler a few days ago. Freshman Courtney Sims helped Michigan get out of the
blocks very quickly with hand in the first five points of the game, scoring
four on his own and delivering a nice high/low entry pass to Chris Hunter whom
was hacked in the act. Michigan went up 7-0 on a jumper by Horton before Scooter Sherrill responded with one of the Wolfpack’s five first half 3’s.
Much of N.C. State’s three-point barrage came over the next four minutes
where they knocked down three more from beyond the arc. Those bombs keyed a
15-2 run that put them up 18-9 with a little under 13 minutes to go.
Dion Harris ended Michigan’s scoring drought at the 10:31mark when he
stole the ball near the top of the key and blew down the court for the breakaway
dunk. Harris seemed to help re-ignite the Wolverine offense by taking the ball
strong to the basket for the bucket or the foul. He chipped in six points to
help the Wolverines outscore the Wolfpack 15-9 over the next 7 minutes and cut
the lead to 1 at 27-26. Then, Daniel Horton, whom was very quiet offensively
after hitting his first jumper, nailed a HUGE three-pointer with 2:20 to go
to give Michigan the lead again. Coach Amaker pointed to the prior game against
Butler as a key to his team’s resilience. “Being in the Butler game
prepared us for this game,” Amaker said. “I was pleased with our
effort and our ability to come back when we were down.” The Maize and
Blue added to their lead with 4 more points before the halftime buzzer, highlighted
by a big time baseline dunk from Harris for his eight point of the first half
and a 33-27 half time lead.
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Daniel Horton from deep! |
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The Wolfpack's wiry scoring leader, Julius Hodge, came out of the locker room
ready to assert himself. After scoring only six first half points, he score
4 really quick ones in the first minute and a half of the 2nd stanza to cut
the lead to 2. Bernard Robinson Jr. answered Hodge’s brief outburst with
a big jumper of his own. The Wolfpack continued to scratch and claw, but Michigan’s
second half defense was too much to overcome. The defensive rotations were much
better after the Wolfpack’s initial 3-point assault early in the first
half… and they particularly good in the second half. After going 5/13
from beyond the arc before intermission, NC State was held to 2/14 from long
distance afterward. Michigan’s 2nd half effort was help by a strong presence
from J.C. Mathis down low. He played very physical in the post and helped Michigan
increase their rebounding edge with eight second-half boards. Coach Amaker singled
out Mathis’ effort as a big boost for the team. “He gave us toughness
and valuable experience that we needed on the floor tonight,” Amaker said.
“J.C. coming out and playing defense on the perimeter was critical. He
also pulled down some big rebounds, which was a big shot in the arm for us.”
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JC Mathis |
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Hodge did his level best to keep the Wolfpack in it with 19 second-half points.
NC State was able to cut the lead to 1 at 14:40 with a timely 3 pointer from
Ilian Evtimov with 14:40 to go. But a 9-2 run, keyed by Horton and Mathis, over
the next four minutes effectively put the visitors away. The Wolverines would
go up as many as nine points before winning 68-61. On the evening the Wolfpack
were led by Hodge with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists…and Scooter
Sherrill with 14 points and 5 boards. Daniel Horton (16 points, 5 boards), Dion
Harris (14 points, 4 boards, 3 steals, 6-6 from the line), and J.C. Mathis (9
rebounds) paced the Wolverines winning effort. For the full boxscore and post-game
quotes, click the following links (boxscore,
quotes,
notes).
The Wolverines next test will be on the road at Saturday at Vanderbilt (9pm
EST).
Click photos to enlarge
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Sims wins the opening tap |
Tommy Amaker |
Bernard Robinson Jr. drains it from long range |
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Chris Hunter with the bunny |
Lester Abram takes it up in traffic |
Dion Harris running the point |
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Team huddle |
Bernard with another jumper |
Daniel Horton takes it to the hole |
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B Rob guards Hodge |
The Maize Rage |
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