Page 8-Sunday, January 27, 1980-The Michigan Daily 30T MARATHON Cats zap Blue, 85-82 By SCOaTT M. LEWIS Special to The Daily EVANSTON - The current segment of Michigan's Big Ten schedule was supposed to be the "easy" part - Michigan State, Wisconsin and two dates with last-place Northwestern. Don't you believe it. The Wolverines suffered their second straight setback. and fifth in the last six games, a triple overtime 85-82 decision to the Wildcats before 4,391 disbelievers at McGaw Hall and a regional television audience. IT WAS Michigan's fourth Big Ten otertime game of the season and third in a row. The Wolverines hadn't gone three overtimes since 1973. The loss puts Michigan at 3-5, eighth in the conference and 10-7 overall. Hopes of receiving a post-season tour- nament bid - which were raised just one week ago after the upset of Ohio State - aren't yet laid to rest, but if the recent trend continues they'll be fading fast. Clutch free throw shooting by North- western in the final overtime period helped the Wildcats gain only their second Big Ten triumph in eight attem- pts, the other win coming at the expen- MfCHIGAN NORIhWE.STERN Min FG/A FT/A R A PF Tot. r541-. 13/34 ¢4 4 4 0 1 36 r' ' 319 417 13 52 10 man 'S 5/ 57 4 3 5 ,L5 ' 42 3 6 00 1 4 2 6 :1 21 12 2 S 3 5 /9 2/4 010 0 0 0 4 n L3 3/4 0) 2 0 3 6 8 26 O) 2 0 5 4 4 112 018 0 0 0 2 t2735 31/72 14/12D :umi 1$ t S Mhn F'/A FT/A R A PF Nt. Campbell 55 9/10 212 312 5 2 Stac ^a' 6/15 3f4 7 4 4 L3 Juntg tai 35 - 0 3 0 4 6 Gibson l 4 57 0 9 2 13 Bobersen 30 10/14 31 6 6 2 23 Gmdy 13 013 0/0 0 0 1 0 Riad'eI 2 23 2f32 1 3 6 Jenkins 6 1/ta00 2 0 2 'Mals 2 /5 35/58 i5/3 ii27t 19'i Halime: Northwestern:39,Michigan37 Attendance: 4.391 se of Michigan State, also in Evanston. ENTERING THE final stanza tied at 72, the Wildcats jumped to a four-point lead, 76-72 with 4:10 remaining. Paul Heuerman's basket from inside cut the margin in half, but moments later Jim Stack hit one of two from the line, making it 77-74. from that point Northwestern didn't score another field goal. It didn't have to, however, as the Wildcats (one of the top ten foul shooting teams in the nation) converted both ends of one-and- one situation four times in the final minute. Keith Smith, the 6-0 guard who, like Heuerman, fouled out in the waning moments, pumped in a jumper, bringing Michigan to within one at 77-76 with 1:49 to play. But Northwestern freshman Gaddis Rathel, a key reboun- der down the stretch, hit a pair of free throws to put the Wolverines down by three again. THAD GARNER then missed badly from right of the key. Rathel snared the rebound and was fouled in the back- court. The freshman canned the first shot, then failed to connect on the second. But Stack flew into the lane, snatched the ball and dished out to Brian Gibson, who was fouled by Smith. The senior guard was perfect from the line giving the Wildcats an 81-76 advan- tage. Michigan coach Johnny Orr expected a close battle with Northwestern. "I expected it to be tough," said Orr. "I've been around a long time. I expect them all to be tough." Orr praised his cagers' effort yester- day. "The ball just wasn't bouncing our way at critical times," he said. "I can't fault my team at all, as long as they give that kind of effort. I feel sorry for them." SECOND-YEAR Northwestern men- tor Rich Falk echoed Orr's sentiments. "Give Michigan a lot of credit, the way they played the game," said Falk. "Af- ter their loss on Thursday, it's a credit to them. They're a very good, well- coached team." The triple-overtime experience was novel to Falk. "It's the first time I've ever been involved in one, and I don't want any more," he said. "With each overtime, we seemed to dig down just that much more. It showed how they (the Wildcats) wanted it," With about seven minutes remaining in regulation, few persons in McGaw Hall could have predicted a North- western victory. A Heuerman jumper . at the 7:24 mark gave Michigan its largest lead of the game, 59-51. ,The Wildcats gradually clawed their way back into the foray, Rod Roberson's off- balance shot bringing his team to within three at 63-60. ON ITS NEXT possession, Michigan was victimized by a highly questionable call. The officials whistled Garner for charging at 1:08, and eight seconds later, Roberson struck again, this time from 15 feet to make it a one- point deficit. At :39 Garner cashed in on only one of two from the line, giving Northwestern a chance to tie the contest at 64 with a field goal. Stack did just that, taking a pass from Gibson and pumping in a short fadeaway with twenty-five secon- ds to go. Michigan inbpunded the ball at mid- court and worked for a final shot, but Mark Lozier's effort from left of the lane was short. "WE JUST wanted to move and get good shots," said Orr. "The missed free-throws in regulation - that's the thing which cost us the game." If not for Mike McGee, who scored eighteen of his game-high 30 points in the first half, Michigan may well have found itself trailing by a larger margin than 39-37 at the intermission. The game was tied thirteen times in the opening session. Heuerman had fifteen points, twelve coming after the half while Garner had ten. Roberson led the home team with 23 points, Mike Campbell registered twenty, and Stack had fifteen. Michigan will try to avenge its loss this Saturday when it hosts North- western. Before that affair, however, the Wolverines (0-4 on the road in Big Ten action) must travel to Wisconsin Thursday to face the Badgers, who, like the Wildcats, are 2-6. , * mm m alammmm mmm mm m - masesmm mm mme (good only with this coupon) Please ask for your free Pepsi when placing the order, Carry-Out and FREE Delivery1 FREE-2 LARGE PEPSIS With any medium or large pizza GOOD MON. THRU THURS. f. (DON'T FORGET to ask for your free Pepsis WHEN you place your order) 12", 14". 16" PI2ZAS--10 items including, Zucchini & Eggplant.t * COTTAGE INN'S Very Own SICIIAN DEEP DISH PIZZA " SANDWICHES. SUBS. PIZZA SUB, COTTAGE INN DELUXE * Expertly prepared ITALIAN DINNERS: Spaghetti, Lasagna, Cannelloni. Manicotti. Combination 546 PACKARD at HILL-665-6005 I MONDAY-SATURDAY 4"2am. SUNDAY 4- lam Sm m m m m m mm - m m mm mm m mm m m.-- AP Photo MICHIGAN CENTER Paul Heuerman drives past Northwestern counter- part Brian Jung in yesterday's disheartening 85-82 triple-overtime loss to the Wildcats. Despite a four-inch height disadvantage, Heuerman held the seven-foot Jung to just six points while pumping in 15 of his own for the Wolverines. ° fulic .o r} Gymnasts in top ten; aiming for nationals U I Dance till you Drop with i BY LEE KATTERMAN National prominence is common- place for Michigan athletic teams and this week, the men's gymnastics squad also entered the limelighyt. The most recent Collegiate Gym- nastics Coaches' Statistical Report lists the Wolverines among the top ten in the nation. The team's 265.95 against UCLA January 12 earned Michigan ninth place in the coach's rankings, its first appearance in the top ten this season. MARINER 'XI 4c. (K appearing x L . ~ i r _ ."V /' ' ., thru Sunday - t0 THE IMPORTANCE of this honor goes beyond the recognition Michigan will receive, for it moves the Wolverines into the running for one of ten team spots at the NCAA finals, set for early April in Lincoln, Nebraska. Furthermore, today's dual meet gives the Wolverines a prime oppor- tunity to move up in the rankings. Min- nesota, the reigning Big Ten champions and the team just ahead of Michigan in the top ten, moves into Crisler Arena at 2 p.m. for this year's confrontation with the Wolverines. Dual meet records mean more than they ever have. Rather than using regional qualifying meets, a coaches committee will select the team finalists based on dual meet performance. Four berths at the finals are reserved so that each of the country's four regions will be represented, with the remaining six teams picked on an at-large basis. THE SELECTION committee will look closely at this score (Michigan vs. Minnesota)," said Michigan coach Newt Loken. "If we can beat.Minnesota in man-to-man competition, it will really enhance our chances to be selec- ted." Loken also noted that the next four meets with Minnesota, Ohio State, In- diana and Indiana State, will go a long way in propelling his team into the finals - if his team "continues to im- prove and excel in their meets". Three of these four teams (all but Indiana) are currently ranked in the coaches' top twenty. The only gymnast with physical problems is sophomore Marshall Gar- field, who is still recovering from his second dislocated fingermthis season. Still, 'Garfield will perform on parallel bars, and freshman Kevin McKee will take the spot usually filled by Garfield on high bar. Loken has anotherreason for wanting his team to do well in the Minnesota meet. "I always like to look good again- st Minnesota," said Loken, "because it's my alma mater." As a Gopher, Loken won NCAA championships in high bar in 1941 and the all-around in 1942. By STAN BRADBURY . EVANSTON Will somebody pull the ripcord? The Michigan skydivers are going to be crushed into little pieces unless someone can stop this nightmare plunge. Falling, falling, falling, Michigan has to pull out of it before they face Wisconsin, or it will be too late - the Wolverines will pass away from whatever Big Ten title hopes they have. The conference aerial excursion started out well for Michigan. After a smooth takeoff' from Crisler International Airport the Wolverines were off and flying as they buzzed over Mipnesota and Iowa. But then they hit some very rough turbulence over Indiana and took a hit to the fuselage over Illinois. That wasn't enough to stop Michigan. The flight continued and hit maximum altitude last Saturday with the shooting down of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Big Ten flying aces. Michigan then looked ahead to the friendly and calm skies over Michigan State and Northwestern. Everything seemed to be going well for Commander Johnny Orr and his crew against the Spartans until three guys in black-and-white striped uniforms pushed Michigan out of the plane. Taking a dive The Wolverines ended up free-falling past Michigan State and continued to dive right by the Wildcats of Northwestern on regional TV yesterday. By the end of the game, they must have seen their whole 'season flash before their eyes. , Will they find the cord in time or will they crash in Madison Thursday night? And if the chute does open and they touch down softly in Wisconsin, it still remains to be seen if they can find a new fighter plane to get back into the Big Ten battle. Michigan seems to be making a habit out of taking each battle down to the last seconds. .. or longer. The Wolverines have now played in three consecutive overtime contests, winning the first, but losing the latter two. That makes three overtime losses in the past six games. Turn those three games around (Indiana, Michigan State, and Northwestern), and the Wolverines would be in solid second place in the Big Ten. Champions are made, and losers are given excuses in games like these. SQ far, the breaks haven't been going Michigan's way. Last season it was just the opposite. Michigan won the close ones, in- cluding four games in the last second. Northwestern lost six games in the waning seconds; among those was a two-point loss to Michigan on an Alan Hardy 15-footer at the buzzer one year ago. Perhaps the breaks are evening out. Perhaps the problem is me. I'm a jinx I'm somewhat of a jinx to Michigan basketball. I've reported on five games this year - Toledo, Indiana,, Purdue, Michigan State, and North- western - and we've lost all five. I have never been given the opportunity of writing up a Michigan victory. But, Wolverine fans, take heart; I have only two more games to cover. -They are Indiana and Pardue at home.. On the positive side of things, every game I've watched as a fan and not as a reporter, Michigan has triumphed. And I plan to see all the rest of the games. The Northwestern game was fought without a plane, but that didn't stop Mike McGee from gunning in 3 points to pace all scorers. It was McGee's second 30-point performance in a row. Michigan played a good game, but Northwestern was at their top for the year. The Wildcats hit an amazing .603 field goal percentage. It is the highest against the Wolverines this year. Northwestern really won the game at the free throw line, where they hit eleven of fourteen attempts in the third overtime period. Michigan was never given a chance to come back with marksmanship-like that. The Wildcats are, incidentally, marksmen from the free throw line. They have a team free throw percentage of .750 going into the game, seventh best in the nation. 1' O/ s YES, I am interested in sending a Valentine's Day Message through the DAILY Classifieds. 1.00 for the first 2 lines .50 for each additional line VfILENTIHE MESSfIG E: 1 2 I 3 4 Name __ Address 1 DO YOU WANT TO: - lose weight " quit smoking " improve study potential? RESERVE NOW? FOR 3 DAYS ONLY LIMITED SPACE t Group Seminars in HYPNOSIS can change your {ife. Program 1 lon e W eght Kr p o Th;rs. Feb.6 3am :30 am Fr. Feb. 8. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m , _ Program 2 Qit Smokin'gi One Day! Proram "2Wd.Feb6930am. 1:30a.m. 9:00 pm. - 11:00 p.m. SCORES College Basketball Northwestern 85. MICHIGAN 82 (30T) Indiana 69, Purdue 58 Iowaf80.Minnesota 73 Illinois 74, Michigan State 65 Wisconsin 72. Ohio State 71 Kentucky 56, Georgia 49 Louisiana State 66. Florida 58 Notre Dame 64, Maryland 63 Central Michigan 73, Kent State 71 Wake Forest 67, Georgia Tech 59 Open Saturdays 0 I 1