By Staff
ANN ARBOR - Michigan snapped a three-game losing streak Thursday night with an 82-67 victory over the visiting University of Texas at El Paso in the opening round of the National Invitational Tournament.
The Wolverines (19-10) will now host Notre Dame on Monday at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN.
Chris Hunter led a balanced Michigan attack with 20 points. Hunter was 6-of-10 from the field for the Wolverines.
Michigan also got 19 points from Dion Harris, 14 points from Daniel Horton and 10 points from Brent Petway.
The Wolverines opened up a 20-9 first half lead, however, UTEP used a 6-0 run to get back into the contest.
Michigan stretched its lead back to 11 points (28-17) with just under eight minutes to play in the opening half.
The Wolverines stretched their advantage to 14 points on a pair of ocassions and settled for a 44-33 lead heading into the intermission.
Michigan maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the second half. The Wolverine's biggest margin game with 9:47 to play when it went up 73-53 with a 12-0 run, which ended with six minutes to play.
Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the NIT on Wednesday night with a 79-69 win over Vanderbilt.
The Wolverines and Fighting Irish will be meeting for the second time this season. Michigan defeated Notre Dame 71-67 back in December.