Forward Isaiah Livers scored 22 points, point guard Zavier Simpson had 17 points and nine assists, and Michigan pulled away in the late going for a 79-69 nonconference victory over Creighton at Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday.
Center Jon Teske contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Wolverines (2-0), who shot 56.6 percent from the field and held Creighton to 42.5 percent shooting.
Guard Ty-Shon Alexander led the Bluejays (1-1) with 20 points and added eight rebounds and three steals. Guard Marcus Zegarowski supplied 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, and guard Mitch Ballock scored 11 points.
Creighton had a 38-27 rebounding advantage but only attempted two free throws and missed both. Michigan wound up 10 of 12 at the line.
Ballock poured in 11 of Creighton's first 13 points. Livers reached double digits on a 3-pointer with 9:31 left in the opening half, giving Michigan a 23-19 lead. Simpson made his second 3-pointer of the game to push the Wolverines' advantage to 29-23.
Alexander scored back-to-back layups off Michigan turnovers after converting a put-back. His personal 6-0 run cut Michigan's lead to 31-29.
Alexander hit a trey with 2:36 remaining in the half to put Creighton on top 37-35. He finished the half with 14 points, and the Bluejays had a 41-38 lead heading into the break.
Simpson made three layups in the first 2:30 of the second half to put Michigan on top 46-43.
Livers scored on consecutive possessions, including another 3-pointer, to make it 56-50. Livers threw down an alley-oop pass delivered by Eli Brooks after a Brooks steal to nudge the lead to eight.
Teske scored off a feed from Brooks and got fouled with 4:17 left. Teske made the free throw, giving Michigan a 70-61 edge.
Consecutive layups by Alexander made it a five-point game. Teske then scored inside twice more to give Michigan plenty of breathing room.
--Field Level Media
