Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua had 25 points and seven rebounds in his Michigan debut as the Wolverines won their season opener 99-74 over UNC Asheville in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday.
Dug McDaniel racked up 22 points and eight assists, while Terrance Williams II had 15 points and six rebounds. Nimari Burnett added 13 points and five rebounds for Michigan, which led by as much as 29 points. The Wolverines shot 56.7 percent from the field, while the Bulldogs shot 40 percent.
Drew Pember led the Bulldogs with 19 points after battling early foul trouble. Pember averaged 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds last season while leading the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Josh Banks had 18 points and Evan Johnson tossed in 12 for the Bulldogs.
The Wolverines were coached by Phil Martelli. Head coach Juwan Howard is still recovering from heart surgery.
The Bulldogs were down by only five points after the first nine minutes. That deficit grew to 15 as Michigan reeled off 10 unanswered points.
McDaniel started the spurt with a 3-pointer. He made another basket in that span and Williams capped it with a 3-pointer. The lead grew to 20 points, 44-24, with 4:12 left in the half on a Williams layup.
The Wolverines established their biggest lead of the half, 48-27, on an alley oop from McDaniel to Nkamhoua. Johnson scored the last five points of the half, cutting Michigan’s lead to 48-32.
McDaniel finished the half with 12 points and six assists. Nkamhoua also scored 12 and Johnson led UNC Asheville with the same figure.
McDaniel drained a 3-pointer 19 seconds into the second half. Burnett’s three-point play 21 seconds later gave the Wolverines a 22-point advantage.
Within five minutes of the half, Michigan’s lead was 27, 67-40, after Williams knocked down a 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media