- full court PRESS Baxter excels... Wokerines triumph By HENRY ENGLEHARDT Special to The Daily NEW YORK D AVE BAXTER'S butter-luscious jumpers woke up a woozy bunch of Wolverines in the second half here yesterday and spurred them to a victory. In the first nine minutes of the second half the senior co-captain zipped in twelve points. He was really smoking, but only Fordham could have thought it was an illegal substance. He opened the half's scoring with a perfect swish from fifteen feet, next he was on the layup end of a fast break, followed by a perfect pop from four- teen feet, another from the top of the key, another layup off the break and then bingo from eighteen feet. After that one Michigan led 50-46, a twelve point difference from the halftime score. "He got them going," praising Fordham coach Dick Ste- wart. "His long jumpers pumped up the whole team." Baxter finished the game with scoring honors at 20 points including 8-11 from the field in the second half. He also had four assists and five rebounds in thirty-eight minutes. "I look for Baxter to shoot," said Tom Staton, the other member of the ' starting backcourt. "When he's, hot, he's incredible. They (the opposition) have to help out on him which leaves someone else open. This is when we work best." The first ten minutes of the second half Michigan really was at its best. Fordham, unlike EMU, didn't let the Wolverines have their way. Michigan had to fight and it did. The Blue outscored the Rams 27-9 in this stretch, showing a lot of maturity and poise. It is only a shame that so few people came to see Michigan at its worst and best. There ate about 11 million people in the New York area, give or take a few hundred thousand, but there couldn't have been more than two thousand at Madison Square Garden for the opening tip. Baxter was asked what he thought of the crowd. "What crowd?" he answered. Hey, the Michigan players aren't used to strutting their stuff for empty seats and it hurt the.m. "It's hard to get enthusiastic for a game when there is nobody there," Baxter said. In the first half Michigan let the tiny crowd, among other things, weaken its desire. "We had no fire," said Staton. "The lack of crowd, the lack of really talented competition... we were lackadaisical. "If we play like that against Louisville," Staton continued, "we might be thirty down." "In the first half," Joel Thompson explained, "we didn't play hard or well. Some days we're not going to play well, but we've got to play hard." For fans wondering what would happen to this year's squad when they don't shoot well; yesterday's first half provides an answer: inferior talent can beat them. Michigan shot 42 per cent from the field in the first half and a sickly 36 from the line. Now the easy part of the Michigan non-conference schedule is over. The next three (Louisville, Dayton and Alabama) will really test this team's quality. And they know it. "We're 3-0," said Johnny Orr, "and it was hard getting there, and if we'll be 6-0, it'll be a lot harder." FORDHAM FALTERS, he'Michigan Daily-Sunday, December 4, 1977-Page 7 77-62 E __ Blue By RICK MADDOCK Special to The Daily NEW YORK - At the Big Apple's Madison Square Garden yesterday, the first half of the Michigan cagers'- Fordham contest tasted sour, as the Rams led 37 to 29. But the second half was delicious for Michigan. Leading the Wolverines to their 77-62 victory were co-captain David Baxter, who netted 20 points, and freshman Johnny Johnson who sank 18. Johnson, the first half's only tasty Wolverine morsel, scored eleven points after he replaced Tom Staton with 12:33 left. The Wolverines stayed alive because of his spark. "HE KEPT US going in the first half. It would have been disasterous (without him). He was the only one going to the basket," Michigan coach. Johnny Orr said. "I just wanted to give the team a lift. That's my job," Johnson said. Baxter, who has a bad cold, picked up where Johnson left off. The senior guard popped 16 of his points in the second half mixing fast break lay-ups with long jumpers. ALTHOUGH BAXTER was the game's leading scorer, he was not totally pleased with his performance. "I made too many mistakes. I missed a let of free throws (0 for 3). If the game was close, and I missed those free throws we would have lost," Baxter said. The senior from Detroit's Lutheran West was not the only Wolverine who missed a lot of free throws. Michigan sank 19 of 37 (51%) from the charity line, and eight of those misses were front end bonus shots. Yet, that per- centage statistic looks like gold compared to Michigan's first half rally j performance which was 7 for 19, just under 37%. WHAT WAS the problem? "Lack of concentration, and like we didn't get to practice here at all," Baxter said. The Wolverines had a variety of other problems in the first half, including poor field goal shooting (42%) and a shoddy defense against a team that started three freshmen and sported a 1-2 record before the game. "We're capable of playing, but it was frustrating. We couldn't operate our offense in the first half. We weren't running the breaks, and we weren't looking up,"said Orr. "ON TUESDAY or Wednesday we were like five jack rabbits. We were so quick. Today we were like five turtles for a long time," Orr added. "We let them take it to us, and in the second half we took it to them," said Baxter. Michigan came out shooting in the second half. The Wolverines closed the Rams' eight point lead to two by scoring the first six points. Fordham stopped play by calling . a timeout with 17:48 left in the game. "WHEN MICHIGAN gets hot, they are a very explosive team," Ford- ham coach Dick Stewart said. "We're not a comeback team. In the first half, we held them to one shot. They did play harder in the second half. They shot with better balanc in the second half, and they created our second half turnovers." Several of those turnovers came when the Wolverines attacked with their full court press that comes after completed free throws. Fordham turned the ball over six times, and Michigan scored six points as a vrecks direct result of the press. "They turned our turnovers into points. They must -have converted nine of every 10 turnovers, and it was the difference between winning and losing," Stewart said. FORD HAM ' took the lead witt 11:51 to go in the first half, 17-15, and held it until there was 14:25 left in the game, when Michigan tied the scorE 41 apiece. After Michigan grabbed the lead momentarily, Fordham regained it for the last time for about two minutes. With 11:21 left, Joel Thompsor grabbed a rebound on the left side of the lane and banked in a layup as he was fouled by Fordham's Kevin Ryan. Thompson sank the third point of the play, putting the Wolverines or top for good, 48-46. This play, preceded by a Baxter bucket was part of a 13-point barrage by the Wolverines. Fordham led 46-43, with 12:37 left to go. The next time the Rams added to their score was at 8:48 left, which made the score 56-48 in Michigan's favor. Rams THOMPSON scored only one point in the first half, but came back with eleven in the second half to tie him with Alan Hardy for the third highest l game total. J. T. still has problems with his ankle, which was considerably swol- len after the game. "It's real sore, and usually by halftime it's very sore," he said. Last year's game was marred by over-aggressive defense. Fordham's' Tom Kavanagh was ejected after nearly tackling, Steve Grote. Yesterday's game was cautiously officiated as there were 33 fouls called on Fordham and 23 on Michigan. However, Orr comment- ed, "I didn't think they were nearly as aggressive as they were at our place last year. They played good defense. They sagged good, and they mixed it up well," Orr said. "We heard.a lot of stories before the game - like how we were gonna get a screwing by the referees. I thought the refereeing was terrific," Orr added. Bronx bombed MICHIGAN FORDHAM Hardy ................. McGee ................ Thompson........... Baxter ................ Staton............. Johnson............. Heutrman.......... Bergen ................ Lozier.............. Mk.Bodnar........ My. Bodnar .......... Robinson............ Total ................ FG/A 4/11 2/6 4/7 10/16 1/4 8/11 0/1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 29/56 FT/A 4/6 7/7 4/8 0/3 0/3 0/0 1/5 1/2 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 19/57 R 6 4 10 5 4 1 f 2 1 0 0 0 33 A 2 4 1 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 0, 0 17 T 12 11 12 20 2 18 1 1 0 0 0 0 77 Walsh ............. Williams............ Ryan ................ Holloway .............. Lombardi....... Kavanaugh....... O'Neil............. Tripucka............ G. White............... K. White........... Dowell.............. Akin .................. Totals ............... FG/A 2/5 4/7 2/2 3/8 2/3 2/6 4/6 2/6 0/4 1/1 0/1 0/0 22/49 FT/A 1/1 2/4 0/0 5/6. 5/6 3/4 0/0 1/2 0/0 1/3 0/0 0/0 18/26 E z 4 2 7 3 2 6 1 0 0 32 A 0 1 3 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 T 5 10 4 II 9 7 8 5 0 3 0 0 62 Score by Periods MICHIGAN ....................... 29 Fordham............................ 37 48 - 77 25 -62 PALMER LEADS SWEEP: Wolverines wall( By PAUL CAMPBELL Rick Palmer's unofficial comeback was officia" completed last night before the largest crowd of the year at Yost when he and his teammates throttled Wisconsin 7-3 to complete a two-game Michigan' sweep of the defending national champions. The senior goalie, who had puzzled his coaches and fans with shaky early season play which pushed him out of the number one position he held last year, was nothing short of superb.'He turned back 43 Badger shots during a busy but beautiful evening, including 20 in the first period alone as the Wolverines were being outshot by Wisconsin 21-5. Palmer stopped every type of shot imaginable, from wicked blue line slapshots to clear breakaways. Oftentimes he was called on to kick out two or three shots in sequence, and did so aggressively and with the confidence he lacked the first month of the campaign. "Rick's got it back together alright," exclaimed a beaming Michigan coach Dan Farrell after the game. "He played real well last week in Colorado, then he came out and kept us in the game tonight." Wisconsin coach Bob Johnson was also liberal in his praises of Palmer's efforts. "I thought we played'excellent, aggressive hockey in that first period," said Johnson. "But he stopped everything we had.' Not quite everything. Coach Johnson forgot that his son Mark found a chink in Palmer's armor at 15:21 on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle to the goalie's right. That tied the score at one, as Bill Thayer had scored the first of this two goals at 10:54 on a similar shot that found its way between the legs of Badger goalie Mike Dibble. Palmer shut the door after Johnson's goal, however, and it didn't open again for over a period while Dave Brennan, Ben Kawa, and Mike Coffman scored to give the Wolverines a 4-1 lead. But with time running out in the middle stanza,-wing Tom Ulseth got a stick on a Theran Welsh slap shot and redirected it between Palmer's legs to cut the Badger deficit to two only ten seconds before the buzzer. Daily Photo by PETER SERLING THE WOLVERINES Kip Maurer (17) lugs the puck during last night's 7-3 victory over Wisconsin. The senior center didn't score last night or gain an assist for the first time all season. However, while Maurer had to be content with no points in a solid effort against the Badgers, Michigan picked up a lot of points; with the fans whooped it up like never before and with the statistics. The Wolverines scored 18 goals this weekend. Once more FIRST PERIOD Scoring: 1. M-Thayer (Olver, Turner) 10:54; 2. 'W-Mark Johnson (Lundeen) 15:21. Penalties: 1. M-Turner (high sticking) 2:24. second period' Scoring: 3. M-Brennan (McCahill) 10:04; 4. M-Kawa (Debol) 13:14; 5. M-Coffman (Miller, Palmer) 16:47; 6. W-Ulseth (Welsh, Eaves) 19:50. Penalties: 1. M-Coffman (roughing) 9:07; 2. W-Griffin (roughing) 9:07; 3. M-Miller (roughing) 9:07; 4. W-McIntosh (roughing) 9:07. with feeling THIRD PERIOD Scoring: 7. W-Ulseth (Lecy, Welsh) 5:10; 8. M-Miller (Lerg, Waymann .6:40; 9. M-Thayer (Manning, Debol) 9:41; 10. M-Waymann (unassisted) 17:25. Penalties: M-Coffman (tripping) 4:18; W-Suter (holding) 9:20; M-Turner (holding) 15:20 M-Todd (tripping) 18:12. Shots on goal )p Wisconsin,,7- The Badgers mounted their only serious challenge. Ulseth scored again on a tip-in, this time while Coffman was serVing a minor penalty for tripping. Wisconsin picked up the pace, but Palmer preserved the lead and ninety seconds later, Mark Miller gave the Wolverines breathing room when he whistled a drive past Dibble after gathering in a Dan Lerg pass at the blue line. "We were desperate there in the third period," said Farrell. "If Wiscon- sin had tiied it, we would-nave been in trouble." Thayer made sure the Wolverines stayed out of trouble with a picture perfect power play tally at 9:40. John Waymann blazed a shot past an im- mobile Dibble late in the game to ice the sweep which vaulted the Wolverines (9-3) into second place in the WCHA while dropping the Badgers (8-4) back into third. "What can I say," queried Farrell when asked about the significance of the sweep. "We needed to win at home because eight of our next ten league games are on the road. We got the solid goaltending and that did it for us." --- - - PLEASE cut out and SAVE THIS ONE TIME AD -... em1........ * *A E CA L CH RISTMA S GIFT** FOR UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN FANS Give yourself or friends a one of a kind present. The perfect gift for fans of I any age is our souvenir edition T-shirt of the 1978 Rose Bowl game. Our washable quality crafted T-shirt is artfully emblazoned with FIVE beautifully I blended COLORS that make it truly unique. Wear it often or save as a I collectors' item. The souvenir edition insignia shown below is imprinted ' permanently and enlarged to full size to cover the FRONT of each T-shirt. {i II 1 I I I r MICHIGAN WASHINGTON c.yrgt 197 Optional Custom Work: ' For on additional charge of 15 per letter, we will artfully imprint any ' message, name, number, etc. on the BACK of your shirt. For example: Satisfied with Wolverine pride; the Wolverine has arived!; Endangered species . . . Huskies; Wolverines. . . the FORCE is with you!; Wolverines bowl overHusies;Wolerines . . . you light up my life; Wolverines ride, Huskies Choose any above or make your own funky message(s) and print in B-1 below. FREE111 FREE!! FREE!! BUMPER STICKER WITH THE FOLLOWING CAPTION:f ' ~STAR WA RS 1978.. Michigan v.s. Washington This dynamite bit of memorabilia from 1978 will be sent to you free of chre alon with ech T-shirt you purchase. Order extras and save as collector's items. .,.. ,e..n Mail coupon now. Allow 2 weeks for deliveryo........... Gentlemen: Specialty Shirt Shoppes, Inc. Please RUSH me the following item(s) P.O. Drawer 1834 ' i have listed below: Tallahassee, Florida 32302 ' A) Souvenir T-shirt(s) of the 1978 Rose Bowl Game at $4.95 each, AMOUNT plus 506 postage and handling charge. I understand 1 will receive the bumper sticker(s) as stated above FREE of charge with each shirt IIbuy. Check size: ADULT: sm_ md__Ig_; CHILD: sm md__lg No. SHIRTS x $4.95 $ 1I 1) Custom Work: All of the above in A plus the following mes- sage(s) imprinted on shirt back(s) at 1t5per letter (allow iI maximum 35 letters for adult; 30 for child). For bulk orderse thattach a listing of messages. WhE r Please print. No. letters x 15hn c Wisconsin (Dibble).............4 MICHIGAN (Palmer) ........... 20 Attendance: 7,649. 8 12 S-17 11 -43 SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y: Women tankers capsize Central, Waterloo By BOB WARD "Nice and easy" was the theme for yesterday's swim meet, when Michigan's women's team flooded out Central Michigan and Waterloo at the first home competition of the season. The Blue mermaids took every event they com- peted in, obliterating their opponents both in swimming and diving. They scored well and they placed in the top three in almost every race. FRIDAY NIGHT the tankers opened their season at Oakland University, washing out their competi- tion 111-22. "I was happy with some of the races, but some were a little disappointing," said Coach Stu Isaac. "Everyone had high expectations for the team and they weren't relaxed." But yesterday the team did well, and Isaac attri- buted it to poise (besides talent). "Today they were swimming well because they were relaxed." Katy McCully claimed first in three events, the 100 yard IM (individual medley)" 100 yard free- style, an the 50 yard freestyle. In the 100 yard IM, she was second until the last lap, when she began 1- 'rnn-. -A ..i.a r ~ amnc n--n +Mn ofte water In diving, team captain Chris Seufert aced both boards, while Julie Bachman took second and third in the one-meter and three-meter. Julie Jeffries claimed second on the three-meter and third in the one-meter. But Friday Bachman won both the one and three-meter boards. Before the meet yesterday, Seufert expressed concern about her diving, "My, tops are consistent, but I'm not very consistent in my entries, that's what I'm working on right now." Big Ten roundup Led by seven foot center Joe Barry Carroll, the Purdue Boilermakers blew out Alabama for an 82- 65 college basketball victory. After a fairly close first half, the Boilermakers put the game out of reach with scoring bursts of 12-2 and 16-3 in the final period. Once they were leading by 21 points, coach Fred Schaus brought out the reserves. Wisconsin took a 48-29 halftime lead to smother Canisius College 96-70 in a non-conference basket- ball victory yesterday. mre unriar-. sft.r... -v 1 a byTamn C"'Urtrth" Pistons bounced In their worst shooting performance of the sea- son, the Pistons shot only 40 percent on the floor and only 27 percent in the fourth quarter as they dropped a 103-89 decision to the Indiana Pacers at home. Al Eberhard tied the contest at 78-78, the Pistons promptly went cold, being outscored 25-11 for the remainder of the game. Guard John Williamson paced Indiana with 25 points and Adrian Dantley, the NBA's second lead- ing scorer, added 21. Eberhard, who sparked the brief second half comeback by the Pistons, had 21 for the losers. Bob Lanier chipped in with 15. By ERIC OLSON SCORES College Basketball MICHIGAN 77, Fordham62 Duke 97, Wake Forest 84 Indiana St. 102, Baptist, SC 55 Notre Dame 89, valparaiso 75 Providence 60, Seton Hall 58 Temple 84, Assumption 66 Clemson 99, Citadel 65 i ,