No. 3 Michigan holds off Bradley
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nik Stauskas scored a game-high 22 points and knocked down 4-of-5 from behind the arc to help the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines hold off the Bradley Braves, 74-66, on Saturday.
Trey Burke finished with 16 points and five assists while Jordan Morgan posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines (7-0), who were coming off a victory over 18th-ranked N.C. State.
"This was a terrific environment for us to learn and get better," said Michigan coach John Beilein, whose team played its first true road game of the season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tim Hardaway Jr., the team's leading scorer coming in, was held to single- digits for the first time all season. He scored nine points, all in the second half.
Walt Lemon Jr. scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Bradley (5-2), which had its two-game winning streak snapped. Tyshon Pickett had 11 and Will Egolf, Jordan Prosser and Jalen Crawford each finished with 10 points in the defeat.
The Braves, who were hosting a Top 3 opponent for the first time in Carver Arena History, gave Michigan all they could handle, especially in the first half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After Burke hit from downtown gave Michigan a five-point edge less than eight minutes into the game, Egolf answered with consecutive triples around a a Max Bielfeldt jumper to pull the Braves back to within one. He then drained a jumper later in the session to bring the Braves to within 28-26.
However, Hardaway Jr. found an open Stauskas for three, putting Michigan ahead by five with 3:01 left in the opening half.
Bradley continued to fight back and cut the Wolverines' advantage to 34-30 following a Glenn Robinson III jumper before halftime, but struggled to keep pace in the second half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michigan began to create some separation early in the second stanza, thanks in part to the deep shooting from Stauskas.
He drained a three to cap an 8-2 flurry for the Wolverines, ballooning their lead to double-digits before draining another later in the period to put Michigan ahead 60-46 with 8:02 to play.
The Braves responded with a quick 5-0 spurt to pull back within single-digits, but the Wolverines immediately rallied off six straight points to build a 15- point advantage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bradley used one last push to try and come back, but ultimately fell short.
Following a Lemon Jr. triple and a pair of free throws from Egolf, the Braves forced the Wolverines into three consecutive turnovers, which led to layups for Lemon Jr. and Dyricus Simms-Edwards. Lemon Jr. then finished another layup with 27 seconds to play to cap an 8-0 run to make it 70-65.
However, Bradley was unable to get any closer, as Burke and Stauskas each sank a pair of free throws to put the contest out of reach.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Michigan owns a 7-1 lead in the all-times series between the two schools ... The Wolverines are off to their best start under coach Beilein and are 7-0 for the first time since 2006-07 ... With two more wins, Beilein will record his 100th victory with Michigan and become just the seventh coach in school history to do so ... Bradley fell to 6-23 all-time against teams ranked in the top three in the country.