It’s one thing to break out in one game in the middle of the season, but it’s another to put together consistent play in crunch time to bring meaningful contributions to a winning basketball team.
Against Nebraska, Trey McKenney made a clutch layup with seconds left to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game. A few weeks later, trailing by 16 points with under 10 minutes to go, L.J. Cason erupted for a career-best 18-point showing at Northwestern to help Michigan secure the win.
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The question wasn’t whether they could do those things, but if they could do on a nightly basis. On Tuesday at Purdue, they both came up big once again to help defeat the Boilermakers, 91-80.
Despite not playing much in the first half, the guard combo put up significant minutes in the second half, draining threes in crunch time and converting through tough contact at the rim. When Purdue cut the deficit from 16 to 11 with about eight minutes to go, head coach Dusty May called a timeout, sat Elliot Cadeau down and went to his young guards for a spark, and they delivered.
Cason converted two tough buckets while McKenney nailed his third three-pointer of the game. As the Boilermakers attempted to close the gap, McKenney hit another triple to give the Wolverines a 14-point cushion as time wound down.
It didn’t seem like much, but those clutch points kept Purdue from mounting a true comeback, allowing the starters to take over in crunch time and defeat another top-10 opponent.
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“I think when you look at the secret sauce of our program, one of the things is the daily environment and the way our staff, consistent coaches, strength coaches, trainers support our guys every day, and every day feels like a game,” May said after the win. “Now, there’s shorter games now this time of year, but when L.J. Cason is going head-to-head against Elliott Cadeau every day and there’s intent and there’s purpose, he’s going to get better.”
Cason had 13 points and two assists in 18 minutes, shooting 100 percent from the field and at the free throw line. Tuesday marked his third straight game in double figures and his 10th of the season; he only had four games with double-digit points all of last year.
McKenney had 13 points in 21 minutes on Tuesday, going 3-for-4 from three. He has now scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games and has eclipsed 10 points or more in 18 games this season. While the spotlight is typically on Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan would not be the top-ranked team without the bench production.
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“Trey McKenney’s our one freshman that plays every game in significant minutes, and he stepped up, and he didn’t look like a freshman tonight on the big shots that he made,” May said. “Hats off to our bench. Obviously, our front line, and Elliot was a wizard tonight, and Nimari (Burnett) played really well. Those guys were all awesome as they’re supposed to be as older guys, but I thought our bench was the difference.”
The Wolverines outscored Purdue’s bench, 35-15, winning almost every minute of the contest. What is even more special about the team is Cason and McKenney are only getting better as the season goes on. If Michigan can continue to receive meaningful contributions any given night from all its players, the sky is the limit.
“I have fun coaching these guys because it’s rare for them to all have individual prior success,” May said. “It’s not like our guys put up huge numbers, but we have McDonald’s All-Americans. We have guys that came from other places, and to see them really buy into doing it together and sharing everything has been the most rewarding part.
“We knew going into the season we had a chance, just like a lot of teams feel like they have a chance to be really good. But the stamina and endurance it takes to be where we are right now, we have a long way to go. We’re not even near our finish line if we’re capable of doing it.”
