DENVER — Reserve Roddy Gayle Jr. scored five of his season-high 26 points in a momentum-turning run in the second half, and fifth-seeded Michigan rallied from down 10 to beat No. 4 seed Texas A&M 91-79 in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.
Vladislav Goldin finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Danny Wolf added 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and L.J. Cason scored 11 points for Michigan (27-9), which will face No. 1 Auburn, a winner over No. 9 Creighton later Saturday, in the Sweet 16.
Reserve Pharrel Payne had a career-high 26 points, Wade Taylor IV contributed 14 before fouling out and Andersson Garcia scored 11 for Texas A&M (23-11).
“It’s an amazing feeling, especially all that we’ve been through,” Gayle said. “I feel like we’re clicking at the right time, especially how we were able to finish the Big Ten tournament. I just feel like we have a great team chemistry right now.”
Taylor’s 3-pointer put the Aggies ahead 70-66 with 7:58 left, but they didn’t hit another field goal for nearly six minutes, and the Wolverines surged to a 75-70 lead with 5:17 left. Taylor and Goldin traded a pair of free throws, and Goldin and Tre Donaldson made layups to give Michigan an 81-72 lead with 3:43 left.
“I don’t think we finished at the rim at the rate we need to, and I think we fouled way too much,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “We played with a low turnover rate, but for us, we are dependent on shooting more balls from the field and from the free-throw line, and so to get in the bonus, to allow them in the bonus so quickly both halves goes against us.”
Two free throws by Solomon Washington and a driving layup by Zhuric Phelps made it a five-point game. Then the Wolverines were called for offensive goaltending, and Phelps made two free throws with 1:29 remaining to cut it to 82-79.
Donaldson hit an underhand bucket with the shot clock expiring, Taylor’s 3-pointer rimmed out, and Michigan sealed it with seven free throws in the final minute.
The Aggies’ Henry Coleman III said his team “just didn’t have the fight today as far as on the glass. I thought towards the end we were fighting and some of the balls didn’t bounce our way. But it doesn’t discredit the effort that some of the guys had on their end.”
Wolf’s bucket to open the second half pulled the Wolverines within 39-37, but Texas A&M built a 60-50 lead with 13:17 left.
Michigan chipped away. Wolf converted a three-point play and Cason hit two free throws and a layup to cut the deficit to 61-57. Payne’s dunk slowed the momentum, but Will Tschetter and Gayle hit a pair of free throws apiece to make it a two-point game with 10:18 left.
“We were able to rebound the ball,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “We know they rely on the offensive rebounding, and so I just thought we were getting good hits, our guards were digging basketballs out, and then I thought we got aggressive against their three-quarter court press.”
Both teams had leads of six in the first half, and things tightened up before intermission. Michigan used a 12-5 run to lead 35-34 with 2:18 left, but the Aggies scored the last five points to go ahead 39-35 at halftime.
–Michael Kelly, Field Level Media
