'We stuck together': Michigan opens NIT with 90-80 win over Toledo

Ann Arbor — Mid-American Conference teams gave Michigan all it could handle during the regular season.

A close call in a high-scoring shootout against Eastern Michigan. A narrow escape in overtime against Ohio. An embarrassing upset at home on a late 3-pointer against Central Michigan.

The postseason was a similar story. After falling behind by nine points in the first half at Crisler Center, Michigan fought back, used a hot start to the second half to take control and held off MAC regular-season champion Toledo for a 90-80 win Tuesday in the first round of the NIT.

“We didn't want to lose four in a row. That's not us,” said grad transfer wing Joey Baker, who scored a season-high 21 points. “We've had a lot of ups and downs this season, but we stuck together. Ultimately, we didn't reach our goals across the board this season.

"But as a unit, we decided that we're going to go out there and we're going to fight and we're going to play to win. That's what we did, especially in the second half.”

BOX SCORE: Michigan 90, Toledo 80

Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin scored 23 to lead four double-figure scorers for No. 3 seed Michigan (18-15). Junior center Hunter Dickinson added 19 points and nine rebounds and freshman guard Dug McDaniel had 16 points and eight assists.

The Wolverines turned in one of their best offensive performances of the season to overcome the absence of freshman wing Jett Howard (ankle) and 14 turnovers. They shot 58.2% from the field, including a blistering 65.2% in the second half, with 13 made 3-pointers to snap a three-game losing streak and move on.

Michigan advances to face No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, a 71-62 winner over Yale, in the second round of the NIT at noon Saturday in Nashville.

Michigan came out on fire in the second half to take the lead for good. The Wolverines made their first five shots and blitzed the Rockets with an 11-0 run. The flurry began with a barrage of 3-pointers — one each from Baker, Bufkin and McDaniel — and ended with a deep jumper from sophomore forward Will Tschetter for a 51-42 advantage.

The Wolverines kept humming along and widened the gap. A hustle play and offensive rebound by Tschetter led to a second-chance opportunity where McDaniel threw a no-look feed to Baker for a 3-pointer to make it 61-51 with 13:51 remaining.

“I think we realized that we were playing a really talented team, and that if we didn't lock in and buckle up on defense that we were going to lose,” Baker said. “We didn't want to go out like that. It was just an understood thing as a team that we're going to go out there and we're going to hoop and play our game. That resulted in making shots and just playing better.”

The Rockets (27-8) wouldn’t go away quietly. Ra’Heim Moss canned back-to-back 3-pointers in the corner to cut the deficit to four. The Wolverines responded with a deep ball of their own from Bufkin to push the lead back to seven.

The Rockets hung tough and pulled within three points on four different occasions. Michigan pushed back each time to keep Toledo at bay. The first time Bufkin hit a floater in the paint. The second time McDaniel buried a 3-pointer. The third time junior forward Jace Howard made two free throws. And the fourth time, Bufkin scored in transition to make it 74-69 with 5:51 to play.

More:'We're still hungry': Wolverines kick off NIT title chase against high-scoring Rockets

Bufkin’s last bucket sparked a 9-2 spurt that Baker capped with his fifth 3-pointer to put Michigan back up by double digits, 81-71, at the 3:36 mark. From there, Toledo turned to a full-court press and ratcheted up the pressure. Despite some shaky moments, Michigan salted the game away with nine free throws down the stretch to survive and advance.

Setric Millner Jr. scored 19, JT Shumate 18, Moss 15 and RayJ Dennis 13 for Toledo, which shot 47.2% in the first half and 40.5% in the second half.

Michigan stumbled out of the gate and fell behind early. The Wolverines turned the ball over on their first two possessions on poor passes by Tschetter and Baker that led to fast-break layups. The Rockets scored the first six points and built a seven-point lead less than two minutes into the game.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Tschetter and McDaniel kept Michigan close, cutting the deficit to 11-10 with 16:28 left in the first half, during a fast-paced start the featured plenty of offense.

Toledo made eight of its first 11 shots, including two from 3-point range. Michigan kept pace with a 7-for-10 shooting start and early production from Baker, who splashed a 3-pointer and went coast-to-coast for a layup to tie it at 18 at the 13:41 mark.

Michigan blinked first and missed seven consecutive shots over a three-minute stretch. Toledo took advantage with a 9-0 burst that featured a string of buckets at the rim, including another fast-break opportunity after another turnover gave the Rockets a 27-18 lead.

But Toledo’s offense eventually cooled. The Rockets hit a rough patch where they made one field goal and four free throws over an eight-minute stretch. That allowed Michigan to chip away at the deficit and pull even twice before Dickinson threw down a two-handed jam to give the Wolverines their first lead, 35-33, at the 4:13 mark.

“We've dealt with other teams making big runs on us all year. That's one thing we're prepared for,” Dickinson said. “We've been fighting adversity all year. I was not surprised how well my guys and myself made that run, just trying to get stops on defense.

"We knew they're a high-paced team, trying to go up and down and score a lot of points. (We were) trying to limit them in transition, limit their second-chance points and guard them on the 3-point line."

The teams traded the lead to close out the half. After Toledo went up by two, Baker hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to give Michigan a one-point edge in the final minute.

But on the final play, a blown switch led to an open 3-pointer for Shumate and a 42-40 advantage at the break. However, that proved to be the last time Toledo led before a motivated Michigan group flipped the switch with a strong second-half showing.

“I try to think of it as we owe the guys that came before us, the people that put on the Michigan jersey before us, to try to represent them and all the stuff they did,” Dickinson said. “Me and the rest of the team tried to go out there and play our best for ourselves and for the people before us as well.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins