The Michigan Daily-Friday, December 7, 1979-Page 13
by STAN BRADBURY
THE STAGE is set. Michigan
trails Toledo by just one point.
The Wolverines have the ball and 45
seconds to kill before going for
another last shot victory. Somehow
the Wolverines just know they are
going to win it, just like they did on
shots at the buzzer against Illinois,
Indiana, Northwestern and
Michigan State last year.
The handful of Michigan suppor-
ters in the otherwise rabid Rocket
crowd at Toledo's Centennial Hall
sense a win. They bite their nails
while they wait and watch Mark
Lozier and Marty Bodnar stall the
time away.
The only question is, who would be
our hero tonight? It could be Mike
McGee. McGee has played a super
game, having already scored 26
points. Or, it might be Bodnar, alias
full court
I S.
Disciplined D' lead
Toledo over Cagers
ol' reliable, but he has been shut
down by a very tough Toledo defense
all night. It could well be John
Garris, who is in the midst of his
finest game ever for Michigan. Or it
might even be Thad Garner, Mr. En-
thusiasm, or hustling senior co-
captain Lozier.
The Wolverines plan to go into
their offensive attack with 12 secon-
ds remaining. The seconds tick
away and the noise grows in volume.
Lozier has the ball with 15 seconds
left. He looks for the time but is con-
fused because it is in an unfamiliar
place. The scoreboard is hanging
over the playing court instead of
above the yellow seats behind the
backboard as in friendly Crisler.
The star of the game proves to be
none of the above. It is Dick Miller,
Toledo's senior captain and top
player, who intercepts Lozier's pass
with just nine seconds left in the
game.
The crowd erupts like they all just
won first prize in the state lottery.
Michigan is forced to foul Jay Leh-
man in the backcourt with two
seconds left and the game is iced
with two successful free throws. The
place turns into a madhouse.
It's a complete and total hear-
tbreak for the young and exciting
Wolverines. It's their first of the
year ahd it's an awfully tough way to
lose on the road.
It's also a good way for Toledo to
win at home. The Rockets struggled
through their first two games. They
lost on the road to UNC-Charlotte in
the season opener and only beat
Massachusetts by ten points on
Monday night. Yes, that's the same
group of Minutemen Michigan clob-
bered by 48 points in the season
opener on Saturday.
The Rockets had a lot of things to
prove Wednesday night. They had to
prove they have a good team this
year. They had to prove that they
are a true basketball powerhouse,
able to compete at the same level or
better than the Big Ten.
And Toledo has proven that. The
Rockets are a legitimate college
basketball organization. They have
won 20 or more games three con-
secutive years while playing in the
Mid-American Conference. Toledo
was a regional finalist in the NCAA
tournament last season when they
lost to Notre Dame.
. Toledo is also one of only four
colleges or universities in the nation
that has not suffered through a
losing season in the past 20 seasons.
The only other schools are UCLA,
Louisville and Princeton.
To top it off, the Rockets have won
five straight games against Big Ten
foes. Michigan has fallen twice (the
other time was in overtime at
Crisler in 1977) while Iowa and Ohio
State fell last year and Indiana lost
the year before.
Not many teams have been able to
push the best basketball conference
in the country around like that. But
the Rockets' streak may run out
when they play at Indiana on Dec.'
18.
All the credit for Toledo's basket-
ball success must go to Bobby
Nichols, in his 15th season as the
Rockets' head coach. Nichols is
simply one of the greatest (and most
underrated) active coaches in
basketball.
He has complete control over his
team and his players. He is a strict
disciplinarian and he believes in
good old fashioned defense and a
slow and patient passing offense.
And he makes the Rockets what they
are, winners.
Toledo has one of the best defenses-
ses in the country this year. Just ask
the Wolverines. Bodnar will vouch
for that. Marty was held to four poin-
ts, all on free throws, as he missed
all three field goal attempts the
Rockets allowed him.
Michigan shot very well from the
field for the game, 58.3 per cent, and
most of the shots were from the out-
side because the Rockets did such an
amazing job of closing up the mid-
dle.
Toledo played both a tough man-
to-man and 1-3-1 zone defense to shut
down the Wolverines who had scored
an average of 104 points in their first
two games. The Rockets did very
well denying the passes inside while
keeping pressure on the Michigan
guards.
The entire Toledo game, offense
and defense, showed the signs of a
very well coached ball club:
Especially since Toledo does all this
without the big stars that other
teams have.
Nichols goes after the team player
when he recruits. He does not go af-
ter the high scoring hot-shots, only
the solid fundamental players who
will do what he asks and will listen to
what he says. He has built his
program around players that Big
Ten schools passed over.
You won't find any 7-0 giants on
Toledo, the tallest player is under 6-
8. You will find the Rockets in the
nation's Top 20.
at CANTERBURY LOFT
A NEW MUSICAL PLAY BY TOM SIMONDS
T HE WINEDRINKER
A Celebration of Homosexuality
Amongst the Brotherhood'
December 6 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15
8 p.m. at CANTERBURY LOFT
332 S. State Street-second floor
general dmission $2.50 at the door
beginning at 7:30 p.m. on performance nights
announcing...
GAY a
PRIDE WEK;"~
DECEMBER 8=14
Sponsored by E.M.U. Gay Students Association
Dec. 8 - Lesbian and Gay Male Dance,'
Anderson Room, Michigan Union,
U-M, 9pm-1am
Dec. 10 - "V.D. - Fact and Fiction,"
7:30pm, Guild Hall,
McKenny Union, E.M.U.
Dec. 12-- Coffeehouse, 8pm, main lounge,
Jones Hall, E.M.U. Performance
by "Guerrilla Queen.''
for more information call 487-0381 or 763-4186
Marty Bodnar
... closed down
Cowens
traded by
Royals
TORONTO (AP)-The California
Angels sent first baseman Willie Mays
Aikens and infielder Rance Mulliniks to
the Kansas City Roya~ls ysterday for
outfielder Al Cowens and infielder Todd
Cruz in a deal completed at baseball's
winter meetings.
Aikens, 25, hits .280 with 21 home runs
and 81 runs batted in for the American
League West Division champion Angels
last season. He is considered one of the
see more sports pp. 11, 12, and 14
game's coming stars. Mulliniks, 23,
divided his time between Salt Lake City
of the Pacific Coast League and
California in 1979. He hit .343 in 116
games with three homers and 59 RBI in
the PCL.
Cowens, one of the key figures in the
,Royals' three consecutive AL West
Division titles from 1976-78, hit .295 with
nine homers and 73 RBI in 1979.
CINEMA II
PRESENTS 104
EL (THIS STRANGE PASSION)
(Luis Bunuel, 1952)
The director of THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE
here presents a frightening portrait of a paranoid mind. The
story of a mon obsessed with jealousy, it is a bitter indictment
of middle-class morality, filled with Bunuel's characteristic
black humor and surrealistic imagery. Spanish with subtitles.
(82 min) 7:00 only
THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY
(Luis Bunuel, 1974)
Bunuel's liveliest and funniest film, THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY
is a unique blend of surrealism and comedy. Through a seem-
ingly unconnected series of events and characters, Bunuel
presents a hilarious satire of social and sexual mores and
manners as he searches for the elusive spirit of human liberty.
With JEAN CLAUDE BRIALY, MONICA VITTI and MICHEL
POCCOLI.
(104 min) 9:00 only
ANGELL HALL $1.50 one show, $2.50 both shows
Tomorrow: DAYS OF HEAVEN
I
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