Michigan bounces back from loss to Oklahoma, rolls past Purdue Fort Wayne

Coming off a last-second loss to Oklahoma, the Wolverines bounced back with a 89-58 win over Purdue Fort Wayne to improve to 9-3. Tre Donaldson led Michigan with 16 points, while Justin Pippen posted a career-high 10 points in the win.

Coming off a last-second loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Jumpman Invitational, the Michigan Wolverines bounced back on Sunday afternoon with a 89-58 blowout win at home over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons to improve to 9-3 on the season.

It was important for the Wolverines to put the recent loss in the rearview mirror and get back in the win column with a dominant performance, which is exactly what Dusty May’s team did by remaining undefeated at home this season.

The Wolverines had five scorers in double-figures. Guard Tre Donaldson led the way with 16 points and six rebounds, while guard Roddy Gayle Jr had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win.

Here are some of the highlights and top moments from the game.

FIRST HALF

Michigan got off to a quick start, as Donaldson finished a fast-break layup to take an early 10-2 lead. The Wolverines continued to pour it on, going on a 13-0 run to build a 23-7 advantage midway through the opening half.

There were several must-see highlights in the first half, including Danny Wolf floating through the air for an acrobatic finish. Donaldson followed that up by connecting a pair of three-pointers to help Michigan take a commanding 35-14 lead.

The Wolverines shot an unreal 21-of-27 from the field and 9-of-12 from three-point territory in the first half. Ten different players scored for Michigan, which also racked up 22 points in the paint and had 1.5 points per possession. The Wolverines led 54-29 at halftime.

SECOND HALF

Even though the game was already in hand, the Wolverines continued to play at a high level on both ends of the floor, starting the second half on a 13-2 spurt as Gayle threw down a fast-break dunk to force a Purdue Fort Wayne timeout.

In addition to shooting the lights out from the perimeter, Michigan had complete control around the rim as frontcourt mates Vlad Goldin and Wolf helped contribute to a 48-17 rebounding advantage to go with 52 points in the paint.

The Wolverines also saw a breakout game from freshman guard Justin Pippen , who recorded a career-high 10 points and four rebounds in the win. Goldin added 13 points, reaching double-digit scoring for a sixth consecutive game.

May reflected on the runaway win in his postgame press conference.

“At this point in the season, we’re relatively happy to be 9-3, despite leaving a couple of winnable games on the table,” May said. “After two heartbreaking losses, you never know how your guys will respond but we came back with great spirit in practice. I thought we saw a lot of carry over from what we’ve been focused onto what we did in the game.”

LEAD SCORERS

• Tre Donaldson: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Vlad Goldin: 13 points, 3 rebounds 2 blocks
• Roddy Gayle Jr.: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
• Justin Pippin: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• Nimari Burnett: 10 points, 1 assist, 1 steal

UP NEXT

The Wolverines will get a week off before taking on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the non-conference finale at the Crisler Center on Dec. 29. Big Ten play will resume with a trip to Los Angeles to face the USC Trojans on Jan. 4.