Michigan rides strong second half to lopsided win over Middle Tennessee State

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Nov 19, 2025

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No tense finish was needed this time.

After surviving a couple close calls last week, No. 7 Michigan used a strong second half to pull away and cruise to a comfortable 86-61 win over Middle Tennessee State at Crisler Center.

Yaxel Lendeborg had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for the Wolverines (4-0), who shot 52.8% from the field (19 for 36) after halftime.

Michigan shook off a lackluster first half and wasted little time widening its six-point halftime lead. Elliot Cadeau (10 points) drained a second-chance 3-pointer. Morez Johnson Jr. had a three-point play. Lendeborg connected on a deep ball. Michigan opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt to pull ahead, 47-32.

The Wolverines continued to string together stops and shots to create more separation. Lendeborg went on a personal 6-0 run with three-point plays on back-to-back possessions, the second coming on an offensive put-back following a Middle Tennessee State turnover.

That kicked off an 18-4 run over a five-minute stretch that essentially put the game out of reach. By the time Aday Mara (10 points, 10 rebounds) knocked down a short hook off a feed from Lendeborg to cap the spurt, Michigan’s lead swelled to 69-42 with 9:55 remaining.

The Wolverines’ lead never dipped below 22 points the rest of the way as they emptied the bench in the final three minutes and coasted to the finish line.

Jahvin Carter scored 18 and Kamari Lands 11 for Middle Tennessee State (3-1), which shot 30.4% from the floor and was outscored 50-12 in the paint. The Blue Raiders attempted 37 of their 69 shots from 3-point range and made 10 of them.

Michigan switched up its starting lineup for the third time in four games, with forward Will Tschetter getting the start over Mara.

It didn’t exactly produce the type of start the Wolverines had in mind. Middle Tennessee State grabbed a couple offensive rebounds, hit three 3-pointers and caused some trouble with its press in the opening minutes.

The lineup tinkering continued until Michigan’s bench helped spark a 13-0 burst. Trey McKenney grabbed an offensive board that led to a second-chance 3-pointer by Lendeborg. On the next possession, McKenney stole a pass that led to a fast-break layup by L.J. Cason.

A couple minutes later, McKenney canned a corner 3 on an out-of-bounds play. Cason followed with a steal near midcourt and took it the other way for a transition dunk. The Wolverines took a 20-9 lead with 10:34 left in the first half.

During the spurt, Middle Tennessee State went seven minutes without scoring a point during a stretch where it was either turning the ball over or missing a 3-point shot.

The Blue Raiders kept applying pressure with their full-court press and bombing away from deep. Back-to-back corner 3s by Alec Oglesby cut it to 23-17 and forced a timeout by coach Dusty May at the 7:27 mark.

That kick-started a 13-2 spurt by Middle Tennessee State during which Michigan’s offense went stagnant and made just one shot over a six-minute stretch. A missed open 3 by McKenney after breaking the press was followed by a made deep ball the other way. A behind-the-back pass by Mara was stolen and turned into a layup. Michigan’s lead dwindled to 25-24 with 3:56 left in the half.

Cason — one of only two Wolverines who made more than one shot before halftime — stemmed the tide with a driving layup before Michigan used a string of free throws to push the lead to nine.

The ugly half ended with Middle Tennessee State’s Torey Alston converting a three-point play in the final second to trim the deficit to 36-30 at the break.