Michigan rallies past Texas A&M to earn Sweet 16 berth

DENVER -- Reserve Roddy Gayle Jr. scored five of his season-high 26 points in a momentum-turning run in the second half, and fifth-seeded Michigan rallied from down 10 to beat No. 4 seed Texas A&M 91-79 in the second round of the South Region on Saturday.

Vladislav Goldin finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Danny Wolf added 14 points and nine rebounds and L.J. Cason scored 11 points for Michigan (27-9), which will face the Auburn-Creighton winner in the Sweet 16.

Reserve Pharrel Payne had a career-high 26 points, Wade Taylor IV contributed 14 before fouling out and Andersson Garcia scored 11 for Texas A&M (23-11).

Taylor's 3-pointer put the Aggies ahead 70-66 with 7:58 left but they didn't hit another field goal for nearly six minutes, and the Wolverines surged to a 75-70 lead with 5:17 left. Taylor and Goldin traded a pair of free throws, and Goldin and Tre Donaldson made layups to give Michigan an 81-72 lead with 3:43 left.

Two free throws by Solomon Washington and a driving layup by Zhuric Phelps made it a five-point game, then the Wolverines were called for offensive goaltending and Phelps made two free throws with 1:29 remaining to cut it to 82-79.

Donaldson hit an underhand bucket with the shot clock expiring, Taylor's 3-pointer rimmed out and Michigan sealed it with seven free throws in the final minute.

Wolf's bucket to open the second half pulled the Wolverines within 39-37 but Texas A&M built a 60-50 lead with 13:17 left.

Michigan chipped away. Wolf converted a three-point play and Cason hit two free throws and a layup to cut the deficit to 61-57. Payne's dunk slowed the momentum but Will Tschetter and Gayle hit a pair of free throws apiece to make it a two-point game with 10:18 left.

Both teams led by six in the first 20 minutes, and things tightened up late in the half. Michigan used a 12-5 run to lead 35-34 with 2:18 left but the Aggies scored the last five points to go ahead 39-35 at halftime.

--Michael Kelly, Field Level Media