John Beilein wins 500th as Michigan beats Rutgers

Zak Irvin scored 16 points to help give Michigan coach John Beilein his 500th career victory in the Wolverines' 68-64 win over Rutgers on Wednesday at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.

Beilein is 500-308 in 25 seasons at the Division I level. He is 207-133 with Michigan, just three games from passing Johnny Orr as the all-time winningest coach at the school.

The Wolverines (18-10, 8-7 Big Ten) won for the fourth time in five games and recorded just their second road victory of the season (2-7). Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman chipped in with 14 points, Derrick Walton Jr. scored 13, and D.J. Wilson added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Corey Sanders led Rutgers (13-16, 2-14) with 15 points, and Mike Williams contributed 14 points and eight rebounds. The Scarlet Knights have dropped seven of their past eight decisions and are in last place in the Big Ten.

Rutgers made just three of 13 shots down the stretch, including a 3-point attempt from Sanders with two seconds left that could have tied it at 67-67.

A short jumper from Williams enabled Rutgers to move within 63-61 with 1:25 to play before Abdur-Rahkman hit two free throws to extend the Wolverines' lead to 65-61.

The Scarlet Knights went scoreless for 2:11 while Michigan went on a 10-0 run to jump ahead 62-56. A three-point play from Walton gave the Wolverines a 60-56 cushion with 4:35 to go.

C.J. Gettys' jumper with 7:58 to play provided Rutgers with a 52-51 edge, its first lead since early in the game, and Williams' layup moved the Scarlet Knights' advantage to 56-52 at the 6:46 mark.

Michigan led 46-36 with 15:20 to play after Duncan Robinson drained a 3-pointer, but the Scarlet Knights responded with a 10-2 run to get within 48-46 after Johnson's deep trey at the 11:11 mark.

Irvin delivered 13 points and five rebounds in the first half.

Michigan went over four minutes without a basket at the end of the half, allowing the Scarlet Knights to slice the deficit to 34-28 at the break.