The Tribune

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Isaiah Livers scored 21 points and Michigan again overwhelmed a highly ranked opponent with its flowing offense to beat No. 8 Gonzaga 82-64 on Friday in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Jon Teske added 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as the tournament's most valuable player for the Wolverines.

Michigan beat sixth-ranked North Carolina on Thursday and finished a memorable three-game run to the title by giving first-year coach Juwan Howard another marquee victory.

"Well, I'm sure we're on the map now," Howard said with a chuckle.

This one had a similar feeling to the UNC win, too, with Michigan's offense kicking into a hot-shooting gear midway through the second half to take control and build a huge lead.

Michigan (7-0) led just 38-36 when the shots started falling from just about everywhere: a 3-pointer from Zavier Simpson, two drives from freshman Franz Wagner, a 3 from Livers and two more from David DeJulius.

It was a burst of 10 straight scoring possessions — with Michigan moving the ball to get good looks on just about every one — that put the Wolverines up 62-43 by the midway point of the second half.

Gonzaga (8-1) never got the lead below double figures again.

"Every time we made a mental breakdown, they scored," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "They literally made us pay on every one of our assignments that we screwed up — a switch or we screwed up a coverage. And they made us pay, so they deserve a lot of credit for that."

Michigan shot 54% for the game, including 12 of 23 from 3-point range.

Killian Tillie scored 20 points for the battered Bulldogs, who dealt with numerous injury concerns over the three-day tournament. Gonzaga just couldn't keep up with the Wolverines operating with confident efficiency, and finished the game shooting 40%.