Charles Matthews had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Michigan locked down on defense and the third-seeded Wolverines beat Montana 61-47 in a plodding first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday night. Michigan (29-7) trailed by 10 in the opening minutes, struggled to get into rhythm until late in the first half, and never really went on a big run to seize control of the game. Instead, coach John Beilein’s team methodically drew away over a long period of the second half when No. 14 seed Montana (25-8) failed to score, and chugged into a matchup with sixth-seeded Houston _ a last-second winner over San Diego State _ in the second round of the West Region. Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie scored 15 points apiece to lead the Grizzlies. Perhaps the Wolverines were a bit rusty by the long layoff after the Big Ten Tournament, which was moved up a week so that it could be played at Madison Square Garden this year, because it was the plucky Big Sky champions who roared to the game’s first 10 points.
NCAA Tournament: Wolverines rusty, but advance
