Yaxel Lendeborg delivered 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as No. 2 Michigan withstood a challenge from Maryland in a 101-83 victory Saturday night in College Park, Md.
Aday Mara made 8 of 10 shots, scoring 18 points as the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) continued their perfect start, which includes wins over seven power conference teams.
After winning its previous six games by at least 25 points, Michigan needed to dig deep on Saturday as it trailed by nine points early in the second half.
Elliot Cadeau added 12 points and 10 assists, directing a Wolverines offense that made 60.3% of its shots from the floor and 12 of 19 (63.2%) from 3-point range.
David Coit rained eight triples on his way to scoring 31 points for Maryland (6-5, 0-2), which made 14 of 27 (51.9%) of its shots from 3-point range and 49.2% overall.
Myles Rice added 15 points for the Terrapins, who were hampered by the loss of top scorer and rebounder Pharrel Payne and the ejection of starter Solomon Washington early in the second half when he picked up his second technical foul.
Payne sustained an apparent knee injury with 4:36 left in the first half after delivering seven points, four rebounds and three blocks. Payne emerged from the locker room at the half on crutches and watched the rest of the game from the bench.
After Michigan trailed 56-47 less than two minutes into the second half, Lindeborg went on a personal eight-point run that included a pair of 3-pointers and reduced the deficit to 56-55.
Rice gave the Terrapins their last lead, 63-62, when he made a 3-pointer with 14:11 left.
Mara answered when he slammed a lob pass from Cadeau, triggering a seven-point run which gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Michigan wrapped it up with a 14-2 run midway through the second half, which included a pair of triples from L.J. Cason (12 points). The burst gave the Wolverines an 88-73 lead with 6:32 left.
Coit made an early statement, draining a trio of 3-pointers before the game was four minutes old to stake Maryland to a 10-5 lead.
Michigan answered with a 12-2 spree fueled by 3-pointers from Cadeau and Nimari Burnett to grab a 17-12 lead. From there, neither team led by more than six points in the rest of the half.
–Field Level Media
