Michigan opens season in impressive fashion, beats Purdue Fort Wayne 75-56

Michigan Wolverines basketball defeated Purdue Fort Wayne, 75-56 to open the 2022-23 campaign. Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.

First half

Michigan got a stop to start the game, before junior center Hunter Dickinson put the Wolverines ahead with a one-handed jumper over two defenders. PFW guard Deonte Billups cashed two-straight threes to give the Mastodons an early 6-2 advantage.

Dickinson hit another short jumper, and PFW led, 6-4, at the under-16 media timeout with 15:40 to go. The Mastodons missed their next three shots after Billups’ makes.

Michigan graduate guard Joey Baker nailed a three from the right corner to give his team a 9-8 edge, before the Wolverines got a steal. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin missed a triple on the other end, but Dickinson cleaned up the rebound, put it back up and got an and-one. After the made free throw, the Maize and Blue held a 12-8 lead with 14:16 to go.

Baker splashed another triple, this time in transition, and Michigan went up 15-8. The Mastodons called timeout at that juncture, with 13:40 remaining in the half.

Michigan’s run continued, with the Wolverines outscoring PFW 18-0 over a 3:35 stretch at the 11:30 media timeout. The run included seven points from Dickinson, two Baker triples, a short jumper by junior forward Terrance Williams II and a deep three from freshman guard Jett Howard. At the media timeout, the Mastodons had missed eight consecutive shots from the field and were 3-of-15 overall.

Bufkin hit a runner right out of the timeout, before PFW forward Bobby Planutis stopped the bleeding with a layup. It was 24-10 with 10 and a half minutes to go.

PFW fought back against Michigan’s backups. Dickinson left the lineup at the 12:32 mark. A Bufkin layup at 10:32 gave Michigan a 16-point lead, its largest of the game at that point, but PFW cut the deficit to nine points by the 7:15 mark. Guard Quinton Morton-Roberston had seven straight Mastodon points.

Michigan got back out to a 16-point lead with a Jett Howard transition layup at the 4:28 mark. Morton-Robertson drained a three-pointer the next time down to cut it to 13.

Michigan’s defense suffered late in the half, with PFW scoring six-straight points to make it 37-28 with under a minute to play. But after getting a stop, the Wolverines set up to get the last shot of the half. Out of a timeout, freshman forward Tarris Reed Jr., who had the ball in the high post, found Jett Howard for a deep three. Michigan led, 40-28, at the break as a result.

At halftime, Dickinson led the way with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting with 5 rebounds and 1 assist. He picked up his second foul late in the stanza. Jett Howard had 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting and 2-of-5 from three-point range.

Second half

Jett Howard nailed a three from the wing to begin the second half and provide Michigan a 43-28 lead. That shot put him in double figures with 11 points.

The Maize and Blue came out with a strong start to the half overall. Graduate point guard Jaelin Llewellyn found a cutting Bufkin for a slam, before Billups hit a three for the Mastodons. Back-to-back Dickinson dunks gave Michigan a 49-31 advantage at the under-16 media timeout. The big man was fouled on the latter and made the free throw to make it 50-31.

Jett Howard drove and kicked out to a wide-open Baker in the left corner for a three that gave Michigan a 55-35 lead. After a bucket on the other end, Howard drove and finished himself this time to make it a 22-point edge. A stop led to a runout and nifty drive and bucket at the rim by Michigan freshman point guard Dug McDaniel. The Maize and blue led, 59-35, when PFW called timeout with 12:44 remaining.

Planutis hit a three, before guard Damian Chong Qui finished an and-one at the rim, with Jett Howard picking up his second foul. PFW cut it to 59-41 after the made free throw.

At the 8:20 mark, PFW was on an 8-0 run. Michigan’s lineup of McDaniel, Bufkin, Baker, junior guard Jace Howard and Reed struggled over the previous few minutes.

Baker was called for a hook and hold at that juncture, and PFW’s Planutis made just one free throw. The Mastodons got the ball, too, and Morton-Robertson hit a corner triple to cut the deficit to 59-47.

Michigan went six minutes without scoring, before a Dickinson dunk put them on the board with a 61-46 lead with 6:45 to go.

PFW cut it to 12, but Jett Howard splashed a three with the assist to Bufkin to make it 64-49 with just over five minutes to play. Howard took it himself in transition after another stop to make it 66-49, then he hit another three to mark eight-straight points for the freshman. The Wolverines led 69-49 with 3:22 to go because of it.

Planutis made a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go, but it was all but over at that point. Jett Howard found Bufkin for an alley-oop layup with 1:30 left, making it 71-52. Morton-Robertson answered with a bucket at the rim.

The Wolverines emptied the bench after a Mastodons’ timeout. Freshman forward Gregg Glenn III extended the lead to 73:54 with over a minute to go. Redshirt freshman Will Tschetter also got in on the action, scoring off a Glenn assist in transition.

The final was 75-56, Michigan.

Dickinson led the way with 22 points, while Jett Howard poured in 21. Howard hit 5 triples on 10 tries.