DETROIT — The stars came out to play at Little Caesars Arena.
Emoni Bates, making his regular-season debut with Eastern Michigan, buried a deep 3-pointer and let out a yell as he put on a dazzling shooting performance.
Hunter Dickinson responded by bullying his way to the basket for a close-range bucket and throwing his arms up, imploring the Michigan faithful in the crowd to make some noise.
It all made for great theater as No. 22 Michigan overcame a rough night at the free-throw line and made enough plays late to pull out an 88-83 win against upset-minded Eastern Michigan on Friday.
Dickinson finished 31 points (13-of-17 shooting) and seven rebounds for Michigan (2-0), which shot 62.5% from the free-throw line (25 for 40). Junior forward Terrance Williams II had 18 points and 10 rebounds while grad transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn added 12 points and made several key free throws down the stretch.
Bates, who was benched due to a coach’s decision for Monday’s opener against Wayne State, finished with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Eastern Michigan (1-1), which shot 45.3% from the field (29 for 64) and had two starters foul out. Noah Farrakhan added 19 points and Tyson Acuff scored 10.
After an entertaining, back-and-forth opening half, Eastern Michigan continued to put the pressure on Michigan and extended its lead to 51-43 on a Colin Golson jumper a little over two minutes into the second half.
The Wolverines clawed back behind Dickinson and Williams, who combined to score 11 straight points during a 13-4 spurt. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin capped the run by swiping the ball from Bates and throwing down a fast-break dunk to put Michigan up, 56-55, at the 13:37 mark.
The lead was short-lived as Bates immediately answered. He scored through contact on a close-range basket and followed that up with a baseline drive and one-handed slam to give Eastern Michigan a three-point advantage.
Michigan responded by going back to Dickinson, who continued to have his way in the paint. He scored back-to-back baskets in the paint, including a three-point play that gave Michigan a 61-60 lead with 11:44 to play.
But the Wolverines couldn’t hold the lead despite Dickinson’s best efforts as they struggled to string together stops and made free throws. Bates continued to give Michigan’s defense fits, scoring on a layup off a turnover and burying another deep jumper as the Eagles reclaimed a 68-65 edge.
The Wolverines pulled within one three times before they broke through and reclaimed the lead, using a Dickinson hook shot and three-point play by Bufkin to grab a 77-75 advantage with 4:05 remaining.
That set the stage for a tense finish. After Eastern Michigan knotted it, Llewellyn scored four straight and Dickinson added a put-back to give Michigan an 83-77 lead with 2:06 remaining.
A costly Michigan turnover led to a three-point play for Eastern Michigan and made it a one-possession game with 1:27 to play. But the Wolverines were able to hang on from there, forcing a critical turnover and making enough free throws in the final minute to stave off the Eagles.
Eastern Michigan got off to a hot shooting start, making six of its first eight field goals, to jump ahead. Bates made his first two shots — a deep jumper from a corner and a layup — and Legend Geeter splashed a 3-pointer as the Eagles took an early 9-4 lead.
Michigan countered with its big man in Dickinson and pulled even when Bufkin stripped Bates and scored on a fast-break layup during a spirited first half where the teams traded blows and players on both sides ran into foul trouble.
After Farrakhan scored five straight, including a three-point play, to put the Eagles back in front, the Wolverines ripped off an 11-0 run to grab their first lead. The spurt was fueled by a string of 3-pointers — two Williams and one from freshman wing Jett Howard — to make it 20-14 at the 11:20 mark.
Farrakhan ended run with a jumper in the lane and Bates put on a show as the Eagles flew back in front. Bates knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer in transition, knocked down a step-back baseline jumper and threw down a put-back dunk in traffic — picking up a technical foul for staring down freshman center Tarris Reed Jr. in the process — to give Eastern Michigan a 26-23 edge with 6:46 left in the half.
Neither team could get much separation from there as the fouls and free throw attempts continued to rack up before the half ended with a frenzy. Bates hit a contested step-back jumper and a deep 3-pointer and Farrakhan added a deep ball of his own. Dickinson countered with a pair of buckets in the paint. By the time halftime arrived, Eastern Michigan held a 45-42 lead over Michigan.
