Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Devante’ Jones set the tone for the game, coming out shooting red hot. Jones made his first 5 of 6 shots including shooting 3 of 3 from behind the arc. Dickinson made his first 8 of 9 shots and tallied 16 points at halftime. The Wolverines, fresh off a loss in their previous game, appeared to take it out on the Thunderbirds. Michigan’s offense was rolling, shooting 64% from the field and their defense was tenacious, holding Southern Utah to just 20 points in the first half with a field goal percentage of only 31% (9/29) and a dismal 14% (2/14) for 3 pointers. Michigan led at the half by 29 points, 49-20.
The Wolverines cooled off slightly in the second half, shooting 48% (15/31), but continued to control the game with balanced offensive and defensive play. The crowd was entertained by dunks by Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate including an alley-oop pass delivered by Frankie Collins right on target to Diabate midway through the period. Dickinson finished with another double-double on the season scoring a game high 22 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. It was his fourth straight game with a double-double. Jones had one of his better games of the year, contributing 13 points with 6 assists and only 1 turnover. After the game, he spoke about how his teammates continued to have confidence in him and the importance of staying confident in himself as well.
Southern Utah was led in scoring by Dre Marin with 12 points and falls to 7-4 on the season. Marin was the only player for the Thunderbirds to reach double digits. John Knight III, Southern Utah’s leading scorer on the season (18.1 PPG) was held in check by the Wolverines and scored just 6 points. Michigan never trailed in the contest and built up a lead as large as 38 points during one stretch. They out rebounded Southern Utah 44-27 in the game and improve their record to 7-4. Their next game is against Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Dec 21st at Crisler Arena.
About Post Author
