ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Courtney Sims’ initial offensive impression was emphatic. The rest of his Sunday showing was simply productive.
The 6-foot-11 Sims scored 15 first-half points to lay the foundation for Michigan’s 80-51 victory over Eastern Michigan in the John Thompson Classic.
The Wolverines (3-0) broke the game open with a 21-2 first-half run behind Sims, who paced the offense after opening the game with a thunderous dunk.
Michigan built a 37-15 lead with 5:30 remaining in the half and led 50-20 at the break. Eastern Michigan (1-2) managed only seven points over the final 13:30 of the half while committing 10 turnovers.
“Our defense was the story, especially in the first half,” said Wolverines coach Tommy Amaker, whose team hit 64.5 percent of its first-half shots. “We forced them into some tough shots, held them to a very low shooting percentage and it’s something we’ve been able to do so far this season. I thought we set the tone early.”
Michigan extended its lead to 56-22 within the first five minutes of the second half, allowing coach Tommy Amaker to give his reserves substantial playing time. K’Len Morris’ dunk provided the Wolverines with their biggest lead at 39 with just under eight minutes to play.
Brent Petway added 10 points and nine rebounds for a team that registered its third win in as many days.
“You saw the impact of having guys we can go to and not have a drop-off,” Amaker said of his bench, which provided 36 points. “They lifted us up even more.”
Devon Dumas came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 14 points. Kyle Dodd scored 10, but Eastern’s four other starters totaled just five points.
The Eagles finished the game with 20 turnovers, which coach Charles Ramsey attributed to only one source.
“Michigan—Michigan, Michigan, Michigan,” said Ramsey, a former Amaker assistant. “They did a tremendous job of taking away our speed, our quickness, our shooters. … We don’t see teams of that nature on a day in and day out basis. It’s something that we’re going to take and learn from.”
