DENVER – Tre Donaldson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:13 left, and fifth-seeded Michigan weathered a second-half comeback by No. 12 UC San Diego to beat the Tritons 68-65 in the South Region first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
Donaldson finished with 12 points, Vladislav Goldin had 14 points, Roddy Gayle Jr. contributed 11 and Danny Wolf grabbed 11 rebounds for the Wolverines (26-9), who play No. 4 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Tyler McGhie scored a game-high 25 points, Nordin Kapic added 15 and Hayden Gray finished with 10 for UC San Diego (30-5).
With the game tied at 63 with 2:43 remaining, Wolf missed the front end of a one-and-one and McGhie’s jumper gave the Tritons their first lead of the night. Donaldson answered with a long 3-pointer to put Michigan ahead.
“We’re desperate to win, we want to continue to play, we don’t want our season to be over,” Donaldson said. “When it’s time to make big plays, when the opportunity presents itself, I just want to attack it as best as possible. I want my teammates to do the same thing. We’re just trying to win. That’s what it comes down to.”
Goldin was fouled on an offensive rebound with 19.3 seconds left and drained both free throws. McGhie then missed a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left.
“I think I got the shot I wanted,” McGhie said. “Step back, going left. I thought it was in, hit the back iron. Couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.”
Michigan led by 15 in the opening minute of the second half, but the Tritons reeled off 11 straight points to pull within three.
Donaldson’s 3-pointer with 16:32 left was the Wolverines’ first basket of the second half, but Kapic answered with one from deep to make it 45-42. After two missed free throws, Gray’s layup made it a one-point game.
Michigan went on an 11-2 run, but UC San Diego rallied to cut it to 61-56.
Gayle and Donaldson each split a pair of free throws, allowing the Tritons to tie it at 63 on McGhie’s 3-pointer with 3:05 left.
“We knew they were going to make a run,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “I thought for a short prep time our guys did a really good job on UCSD. They just keep coming at you, keep coming at you. They believe as well. They have older guys. Man, they put on a performance in the second half.”
UC San Diego coach Eric Olen said, “I just thought we found our rhythm and we played more of the way that, honestly, we’ve been playing all year. I was glad that we found that and gave ourselves an opportunity.”
The Wolverines raced out to a 10-point lead to start the game and were ahead 20-8 after Wolf’s layup midway through, but UC San Diego fought back to within seven with 4:59 left.
Michigan stretched its lead in the final minutes of the first, and Goldin’s three-point play with a second left gave the Wolverines a 41-27 advantage at halftime.
–By Michael Kelly, Field Level Media
