Eli Brooks scored 15 points and No. 20 Michigan held off pesky Tarleton State 65-54 in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Wednesday.
Moussa Diabate contributed 14 points and seven rebounds and Caleb Houston had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines (4-2). Michigan committed 21 turnovers, leading to 22 Tarleton points.
Montre Gipson led Tarleton (1-5) with 17 points and Tahj Small supplied 12.
The schools had never previously met in any sport and Tarleton State had not previously faced a Big 10 school in any sport. Tarleton, which faces No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday, lost to then No. 3 Kansas earlier this season.
Brooks had eight points in the first half as Michigan led 31-22 at the break. Gipson topped Tarleton with eight points.
Bothered by the Texans' pressure, the Wolverines committed eight turnovers in the first seven minutes as Tarleton took a 12-9 lead. The Texans went scoreless over the next five minutes as Michigan gained a 16-12 advantage.
Gipson made a layup in traffic with 5:17 left in the half to pull the Texans within one at 21-20. The Wolverines then reeled off the next 10 points with Frankie Collins as the catalyst.
Collins knocked down a 3-pointer, then set up Brooks for a corner 3. He found Diabate for a layup with 3:35 left, prompting Tarleton to call timeout.
Hunter Dickinson scored his first points of the game with a mid-range jumper off another Collins assist.
Brooks contributed a 3-pointer, an assist, a steal and two free throws in the first two minutes of the second half to stretch Michigan's lead to 38-24.
Noah McDavid's layup off a Gipson pass with 8:48 left cut Michigan's lead to 50-41.That began an 8-0 spurt as Small made a 3-pointer and Gipson tossed in another with six minutes left to whittle the Wolverines' lead to 52-49.
A pair of Diabate dunks in the late going helped Michigan pull out the victory.
--Field Level Media
Tarleton State | Michigan | |
Montre' Gipson 17 | Scoring | Eli Brooks 15 |
Montre' Gipson 2 | Assists | Frankie Collins 4 |
Montre' Gipson 7 | Rebounds | Hunter Dickinson 10 |
Montre' Gipson 4 | Free Throws Made | Eli Brooks 4 |
Shakur Daniel 3 | Steals | Eli Brooks 2 |
Javontae Hopkins 1 | Blocks | Hunter Dickinson 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Tarleton State | 54 | 33.9 | 5-17 | 11-14 | 4 | 19 | 1 | 11 | 9 |
Michigan | 65 | 55.3 | 6-18 | 17-22 | 14 | 37 | 7 | 2 | 21 |