Yaxel Lendeborg scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and No. 1 seed Michigan pulled away for a 95-72 win over No. 9 seed Saint Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Buffalo, N.Y.
Morez Johnson Jr. added 15 points and eight rebounds for Michigan (33-3), which advanced to the Sweet 16 to face either Texas Tech or Alabama. Aday Mara finished with 16 points, and Elliot Cadeau scored 12 points to go along with a team-high eight assists.
Amari McCottry scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead Saint Louis (29-6). Dion Brown finished with 13 points, and Robbie Avila contributed nine points.
The Billikens pulled within seven points with 12:47 remaining. Quentin Jones’ short jumper cut the deficit to 64-57.
The Wolverines followed with a 15-4 run that was punctuated by a highlight-reel alley-oop play. Mara lobbed a high-arching pass from the 3-point line toward the rim, and Johnson Jr. caught the ball with both hands and finished with a jam to make it 79-61 with 8:32 remaining.
Two minutes later, the Wolverines stretched their lead beyond 20 points. Nimari Burnett knocked down a 3-pointer to give MIchigan an 84-63 edge with 6:33 to play.
Saint Louis struggled to keep pace the rest of the way.
Michigan built a 48-39 lead at the half.
Saint Louis opened a four-point lead in the first 10 minutes. Ishan Sharma converted a three-point play with a jump shot and a free throw to put the Billikens on top 27-23 with 10:22 to go in the first half.
Michigan responded with a 7-0 run to seize a 30-27 lead with 8:05 left before the break. Cadeau made a layup to start the run, which included a 3-pointer by Trey McKenney and a layup by Will Tschetter.
The Wolverines maintained momentum as they pulled ahead by as many as 12 points before halftime. Lendeborg made a pair of free throws with five seconds left to finish the first-half scoring.
-Field Level Media
