New York, NY (Basketball News) - Courtney Sims scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Michigan to a 66-43 rout of Old Dominion in the NIT semifinals from Madison Square Garden.
Daniel Horton added 10 points for the Wolverines (22-10), who will take on either Louisville or defending NIT champion South Carolina in Thursday’s championship game.
Brian Henderson had 11 points and Drew Williamson scored 10 for the Monarchs (24-10), who shot just 27.8 percent from the field.
Chris Hunter posted nine points and nine boards for the Wolverines, who are trying to win the NIT for a third time, having claimed the title in 1984 and 2004. The 1997 championship was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
ODU scored nine straight points to lead 21-14 in the first half, with Alex Loughton’s three capping the spurt. However, the Monarchs were held without a field goal for the final 12:14 of the half, and Michigan used a 19-3 spurt to grab a 33-24 advantage at the intermission.
A jumper by Sam Harris had the Monarchs within 38-35 with just under 16 minutes left, but Michigan pulled away for good with an 8-1 spurt. A layup from Sims with 12 1/2 minutes remaining finished the push.
A 16-0 run later in the half made it at rout, with Jerret Smith’s three- pointer extending Michigan’s lead to 64-40 with under a minute left.
