WOLVERINES

Moritz Wagner snatches victory for Wolverines

Tony Paul
The Detroit News
Michigan forward Moritz Wagner, right, blocks a last-second shot attempt from Texas guard Eric Davis Jr.

Ann Arbor —  It takes a lot to get Moritz Wagner down — if it's even possible.

At one point early in Tuesday's 53-50 victory over Texas, he air-balled an open 3-pointer, then ran down the court with a smile on his face, and a shrug aimed at the bench.

Ever done that after missing so badly on a 3-pointer, Duncan Robinson?

"An airball?" Robinson said, with a smile. "Probably not."

BOX SCORE: Michigan 53, Texas 50

Then, late in the game, with a chance to make a couple free throws to tie the game, he missed the back end.

Crushing? Maybe more many — including a few players on the Michigan roster — but Wagner? Pssh, please.

"Yeah, as I was running back," said Wagner, "I said, 'It would be nice to make the winning play now.'"

And that's exactly what he did, times two.

Wagner grabbed a huge offensive rebound to put it back to give Michigan a one-point lead over Texas with 16 seconds left, then had a mammoth block on Saginaw's Eric Davis as Michigan grinded out a victory over the Longhorns at Crisler Center.

Wagner, the sophomore from Germany, finished with a team-high 15 points, none bigger than his layup to give Michigan its first lead in more than 7 minutes.

Senior Zak Irvin, who struggled mightily all night, missed the potential go-ahead shot, but Wagner was in perfect position to secure the offensive rebound — one of just five Michigan (7-2) had all game — and laid it in for the lead, to the delight of a crowd of 10,613.

Ten seconds later, Wagner blocked Davis' shot, and Muhammad Ali-Abdur Rahkman made both free throws to seal it. A final heave from three-quarters court was well off.


"He was terrific," said Texas coach Shaka Smart, whose Longhorns are 4-4. "I thought he was the best player on the floor tonight."

Interestingly, in the final moments, Michigan coach John Beilein had thoughts of replacing Wagner with Mark Donnal for defensive purposes.

Assistant coach Billy Donlon talked him out of it.

"Dance with the ones," said Donlon, "that brought you."

Wagner on the layup: "I mean, I was rolling off the screen, as far as I remember, and saw that Zak took a shot. ... I tried as much to wedge him as much as possible, got the rebound, didn't really see the basket, to be honest.

Wagner on the block: "I was waiting a little bit to not get a foul. It might've been a 50-50 ... as far as I know, I blocked him."

After his heroics, Wagner celebrated with the Maize Rage. Asked if what he said was PG, he smiled and said, "No idea."

That's Wagner for you — always with a smile, whether he's just helped win a huge nonconference test, or whether he's just made a gaffe. He's young.

He still makes them. But he does it all with a smile and excitement that is unmatched on this Michigan roster, which Beilein called a little too laid back.

When he missed a chunk of the second half after picking up a third foul four minutes in, you could see the life draining from the Wolverines' offense.

"What shows up in the box score is only really a fraction of what he means to this team," said Robinson, who scored 13, including a huge 3 to tie the game at 40. "He said multiple times down the stretch, just to me, 'We're going to win this game.

"I think you're seeing just the tip of the iceberg."

D.J. Wilson added 13 points, six rebounds and some exceptional defense for Michigan, which got a young-but-athletic Texas team to commit 14 turnovers — 10 in the first half.

Michigan's offense, though, had a hard time capitalizing, scoring just 15 off those turnovers.

Irvin, guarded heavily by sophomore Kerwin Roach Jr., and Derrick Walton Jr., the senior leaders, combined for 10 points and eight turnovers, and looked off almost all night.

Irvin, threatening to go scoreless for just the second time since his freshman season, had one huge moment, hitting a 3 to make it 48-all with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left. Irvin threw his hands in the air, marching down the court with a swagger as the crowd roared.

That was just one of two field goals Michigan had in the games final 7:30.

Irvin and Walton were a combined 4-for-17.

"(Zak) and Derrick did not have a good game," Beilein said. "They're so much better than that.

"We're OK, we're just OK. We're not that good yet. We're gonna have to play much better than this in the Big Ten."

As off as Michigan's offense was, its defense shined, allowing Texas just two field goals in the game's final 9:30. In the final moments, Michigan had two fouls to give, but opted against using them, for fear it could've opened a lane for a Longhorn to get an easy bucket. Beilein trusted the defense, and Wagner came through, multiple times down the stretch actually, not just on the one big block.

Sophomore guard Tevin Mack scored 18 — including several on some deep 3s, and some shots that just beat the buzzer, either with a 3 to end the half or to beat the shot clock — to lead Texas, which only trailed by three, 31-28, at halftime, despite some ugly play and ball control.

"I'm just so happy when we win," said Wagner, whose Wolverines travel to UCLA on Saturday to face a second-ranked Bruins team that last week beat a Kentucky team that had previously made mincemeat of Michigan State. "At the end of the day, I don't care how we won. I wasn't looking pretty today, that's for sure."

That's some awfully tough self-criticism from a kid you can't ever get down — especially when it was his pretty and aggressive play that ultimately saved the day.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

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