DEARBORN, Mich. – The No. 23 University of Michigan-Dearborn men's basketball team exploded for 45 points in the second half of its contest against Indiana University-Kokomo on its way to another victory on Saturday at the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse.
The Wolverines were deadlocked at 38 with the Cougars after 20 minutes, but their second-half rally led them to an 83-71 victory. With the win, UM-Dearborn improves to 12-6 on the season.
Xavier Crofford (JR/Detroit, MI) led the outburst with 17 points in the final 20 minutes. He shot an efficient 66.6% from the field (8-for-12) which included one 3-pointer. Crofford finished the night with a team-high 20 points (9-for-16) and his eight rebounds were one back of Mafiaion Joyner (JR/Battle Creek, MI) who led the team with nine.
Cody Kegley (SO/Yale, MI) matched Crofford's 20 points to match his career high from a season ago. He shot 4-for-7 from long range, added six rebounds and his nine assists led the team and set a new career high. The Wolverines also received double-digit point totals from Joyner who came off the bench to score 16 as well as Jason Penn (SR/Detroit, MI) who finished with 10 points.
UM-Dearborn shot 32-for-69 from the field, 9-for-24 from behind the 3-point line and made 10-of-15 free-throws. The Wolverines also had 18 assists and won the rebound battle 42-41.
Antoin Clifton led the way for the Cougars with 17 points. IU-Kokomo shot 25-for-65 from the field of which 13 were from beyond the arc.
The Wolverines will start a busy January schedule next week as they play their final 12 games all within the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The stretch will begin with a tough contest against the No. 1 ranked Cornerstone University Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich.