New York ? Coach Tommy Amaker has been through enough postseason basketball to know what Michigan needed most as it made its run at the NIT championship against Rutgers on Thursday night.

The message of the former Duke standout to his players was simple: Slow down.

“We talked at halftime and throughout the second half about poise,” Amaker said. “It was an electric atmosphere and sometimes you play faster than you want to.”

The young Wolverines almost fell into that trap. Rutgers wiped out a 12-point Michigan lead and nudged in front briefly before the Wolverines recovered and won the title, 62-55.

“We never found a groove,” Amaker said. “But it was enough to come out with a victory.”

And the victory delivered a championship Michigan might never have had a chance to play for except for a rare decision by the NCAA last September to grant the school’s appeal of sanctions and make Amaker’s team eligible for postseason play.

The reversal gave Michigan something to play for this season, and the NIT championship was the eventual reward.

Michigan's Daniel Horton, above holding the MVP trophy, scored 14 points to lead the Wolverines to a 62-55 victory over Rutgers in the NIT championship game Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Michigan’s last NIT championship came in 1997, but that was stripped as part of self-imposed sanctions following NCAA violations, and the Wolverines had not been to a postseason tournament since 2000. But they used their return to add another championship.

“I’m thrilled for our team and our program,” Amaker said. “We tried to make the most of this season in a fashion to make our university proud.”

Michigan opened a lead of 41-29 before Quincy Douby’s only basket of the game started a 15-2 Rutgers’ run that nudged the Scarlet Knights in front briefly.

Just when it seemed the game would slip away, the Wolverines reclaimed it.

After Ricky Shields put Rutgers in front, 44-43, with just under 11 minutes left, Dion Harris responded with a three-pointer to move Michigan back in front.

Juel Wiggan tied it for Rutgers, but a defensive breakdown gave Michigan’s Bernard Robinson Jr. an easy basket with 7:37 remaining and the Wolverines had the lead for keeps.