The Michigan basketball freshman point guard crossed over, stepped back and let it fly.
It was a heat-check 3-pointer from LJ Cason and sure enough, it fell through the net, much like most everything else the 18-year-old threw up in the first half of his Crisler Center debut, a 96-92 exhibition victory for the Wolverines over Toledo. Cason made all six of his field goal attempts in the first half, including all four 3-pointers and both of his free throws.
When he finally missed, at the 13:18 mark in the second half, it seemed like it wouldn’t matter as Michigan was in control. But Toledo wouldn’t go quietly. The Rockets, down as much as 16 in the second half, got within three at the under-4-minute timeout.
Isaiah Adams’ turn-around bucket over Danny Wolf cut the lead to one, but a Roddy Gayle Jr. three-point play gave U-M some breathing room. Adams, one of five Rockets in double figures, hit a bucket to get them back within two, but Vlad Goldin responded with a layup of his own.
It wasn’t until Gayle hit a 3-pointer with 1:39 play that Wolverines fans finally could breathe easy. Gayle and Cason ended up with a game-high 20 points apiece, with five different Wolverines scoring at least 11.
It was the final tuneup before the regular season begins on Nov. 4 against Cleveland State (8 p.m., Big Ten Network).
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A clean start
Friday was a generally impressive showing from Dusty May’s group in his first time coaching at Crisler Center. In the first half, Michigan led 14-4 in points off turnovers, had a 37-15 edge in bench points and forced 10 Rocket turnovers, seven of which came via steals.
The Wolverines shot 18-for-34 (52.9%) from the floor and made seven of 14 3-pointers before halftime; each of Michigan’s 50 first-half points came on the three highest-efficiency outcomes: 3-pointers (21 points), points in the paint (22) and free throws (seven).
Michigan opened slowly, making just two of 9 from the floor and one of five 3-pointers before the first timeout. Toledo, meanwhile, was 4-for-4 to open but had four early turnovers for an 8-5 lead.
Michigan heated up thanks to its only returners who dressed, Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter. The duo made a long 3 and a three-point play, respectively, to get the transition going. But the first half belonged to Cason.
The former Florida Atlantic commit, who followed his coach to Ann Arbor, drilled a deep 3 to give U-M its first lead at 13-10, then a few moments later, hit another from in front of the logo.
Soon after, the freshman flashed his athleticism, using a screen to blow by a defender for a layup on the right side of the rim on one possession, then taking his defender off the dribble for a finger roll on the other side on the next possession. In all, he scored 10 points in less than four minutes to give Michigan a 22-20 lead.
The freshman wasn’t done there. After Toledo went on a 7-2 run to get back within three, Cason hit a long 3 from the right wing after crossing over his defender, then forced a steal on the other end.
Three possessions later, he made the heat-check 3-pointer to put Michigan up nine, before scoring a pair of free throws to end the half with 18 points.
Close it out
May’s group appeared poised to run away early in the second half, as Tschetter finished an easy layup in the paint to balloon Michigan’s lead to a game-high 16 with 15:40 to play.
That’s when Adams hit a tough turnaround on the baseline and Seth Hubbard made a transition layup off a Gayle turnover and drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key on consecutive possessions. Toledo had five players score in double figures led by Javan Simmons with 21, followed by Hubbard (16), Adams (15), Sonny Wilson (14) and Sam Lewis (13).
After another U-M miss, Toledo got the ball to Jaylan Owuniga in the corner; he drilled a 3 to cap a 10-0 run in 85 seconds and force a timeout from May. The Rockets even got within four points when Lewis hit a 3-pointer, but an three-point putback by Goldin (13 points, six rebounds) on the next possession helped get U-M up 64-57.
