ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Evan Smotrycz broke up a pass at one end of the court, then Tim Hardaway Jr. rattled in a shot from the baseline at the other.
Michigan’s sophomores were finally giving the Wolverines a lift again.
Hardaway scored 15 points and Smotrycz added 13 points, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 victory over Illinois on Sunday.
Freshman Trey Burke added 14 points for the Wolverines, but it was Smotrycz and Hardaway who came through with the top performances of the day, especially in the first half.
“I just didn’t like the pace of that game. We needed something good to happen,” Michigan Coach John Beilein said. “Tim hits a shot. Evan hits a shot. We have been waiting for that.”
Hardaway entered the game shooting 19 percent from three-point range in Big Ten play. Smotrycz wasn’t much better at 24 percent, but they both went 2 for 2 from beyond the arc in the first half.
“When your two worst three-point shooters go 4 for 4 - Hardaway and Smotrycz - in the first half, it’s a killer for you,” Illinois Coach Bruce Weber said. “They have so many other weapons and they spread you out.”
Brandon Paul led Illinois (16-9, 5-7) with 21 points and Tyler Griffey added 18 points. The Fighting Illini have lost six of seven.
Hardaway’s poor outside shooting and Smotrycz’s ineffectiveness have been concerns for Michigan, but both players were sharp Sunday, especially early. Hardaway gave the Wolverines a 10-8 lead with a three-pointer from the left wing, and his shot from the baseline - after Smotrycz’s defensive play - made it 25-20.
“It was a great relief, just seeing one go in and then another one,” Hardaway said.
Smotrycz made a backdoor pass to Matt Vogrich for an easy basket, then added a three-pointer to make it 30-21. Michigan (19-7, 9-4) was ahead 37-31 at halftime and pushed the lead to double digits early in the second.
Hardaway was 8 for 35 from the floor in his previous three games, and Smotrycz had scored more than 10 points only once this year.
“I’ve just been trying to bring energy to the team in other ways every day in practice - help out in other ways,” Smotrycz said. “Guys still have confidence in me - still getting me shots.”
Smotrycz and Hardaway combined for 22 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting.
It was 53-44 after Paul made a three-pointer for Illinois, but Vogrich connected from long distance for the Wolverines and Jordan Morgan scored to put Michigan up by 14 points. Illinois went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead in half, but Morgan broke up Paul’s pass into the post, and Hardaway made a layup in transition to make it 60-51.
Michigan has won consecutive games for the first time since beating Wisconsin and Northwestern at home in mid-January. The Wolverines improved to 14-0 at home this season.
Illinois shot 9 of 29 in the second half and finished at 39 percent for the game.
NO. 12 GEORGETOWN 71, ST. JOHN’S 61
WASHINGTON - Freshman forward Greg Whittington scored a career-high 12 points, and No. 12 Georgetown hit clutch three-pointers down the stretch in a victory over St. John’s.
Whittington, Jason Clark and Markel Starks all hit three-pointers in the final six minutes to counter the Red Storm’s momentum in a game in which Georgetown never trailed - but also never led by double digits until the final five seconds.
Five players scored at least 10 points for the Hoyas (19-5, 9-4), who moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big East and bounced back from an overtime loss at Syracuse on Wednesday.
D’Angelo Harrison scored 24 points, and Moe Harkless had 20 for the Red Storm (10-15, 4-9).
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 21 GEORGIA 76, VANDERBILT 63
ATHENS, Ga. - Anne Marie Armstrong scored a career-high 23 points and No. 21 Georgia defeated Vanderbilt.
Jasmine Hassell had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Jasmine James added 17 points for Georgia (19-6, 8-4).
Christina Foggie had 22 points for Vanderbilt (19-6, 7-5), which had its five-game winning streak come to an end.
Georgia led the whole game. When Hassell backed in for a layup with 15:36 to go, it gave Georgia a 51-33 lead. Vanderbilt went on a 14-1 run to cut the deficit to 52-47 with 10:27 left on a three-pointer by Foggie. But Georgia found Hassell inside for a turnaround jumper that ignited an 11-3 run that made it 63-50 with 6:18 left.
NO. 24 SOUTH CAROLINA 62, FLORIDA 58
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Markeshia Grant had 20 points, making five three-pointers, and LaKeisha Sutton scored on a left-handed shot in the final minute as No. 24 South Carolina held off Florida.
The Gamecocks (19-6, 8-4) appeared to be in control much earlier, going up 45-35 against a Gators team struggling to make shots. But Florida tied the game at 54-54 on Deanna Allen’s jumper with 6:32 to go. That’s when Grant hit her fifth and final three-pointer to break the tie and put South Carolina ahead for good.
Florida was down 59-58 in the final minute before Sutton’s shot with 32.9 seconds to go.
Jennifer George led the Gators (16-9, 6-6) with 17 points.
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/13/2012