Dickinson-led Wolverines top San Diego State, 72-58

ANN ARBOR » Hunter Dickinson stayed in school to work on his shot, particularly beyond the 3-point line, and it paid off as he and No. 24 Michigan bounced back from a disappointing showing.

Dickinson scored 23 points, making all three of his 3-pointers, and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Wolverines beat San Diego State 72-58 Saturday.

Dickinson had four points in a 72-51 loss at North Carolina on Wednesday night.

The 7-foot-1 center had not made or taken more than one shot beyond the arc before the Aztecs left him open and dared him to take his offense outside.

“The opportunity was there and he took full advantage of it,” Wolverines coach Juwan Howard said.

Dickinson has spent a lot of time working on his 3-point shot, after NBA teams advised him to improve that part of his game when he withdrew from the draft. He praised team managers Andrew Wolfe and Alex Assad for rebounding for him whenever he wanted to practice.

“They’re always available,” Dickinson said. “I’m so thankful for them because they really pushed me.”

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said Dickinson and his teammates were given open looks on the outside by design.

“We rolled the dice and they made a lot of 3s,” Dutcher said.

Michigan freshman Caleb Houstan scored a season-high 17 points and Eli Brooks had 10 points.

The Wolverines (5-3) led by just two points at halftime and pulled away in the second half with a 17-2 run to take a 64-45 lead.

The Aztecs (5-3) were led by Matt Bradley, who scored 22 points. The senior guard didn’t get much help because none of his teammates scored more than eight points.

“They sped us up a bit going from the press and zone and then under 15 on the clock, they were going to man to man,” Bradley said. “It was something we couldn’t figure out until later on.”