SPORTS Page 7 Tuesday, March 17, 1981 The Michigan Daily McGEE'S 26 PACES BLUE, 80-68 Michigan bombs Rockets By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE The script is already starting to get old. For the second straight time, they Michigan cagers have overcome a sluggish first half only to overwhelm their NIT opponent in the second. Sunday night's victim was the Toledo Rockets, who brought a legion of 6,000 fans with them-to Crisler Arena only to see their team lose to the Wolverines, 80-68. The win advances Michigan to the third round of the tournament. The Wolverines' next opponent and the site of the game will be announced today by the NIT committee, which decides the pairings after the results of each round are known. UNLIKE LAST Thursday's opening round 74-58 win over Duquesne, the Wolverines had a horrid first half offen- sively, but played good defense. Sun- day's first half, which ended in a 40-40 stalemate, was marked by fine offen- sive play by both teams, but not much defensive effort. Toledo's Harvey Knuckles tossed in 17 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, while Mitch Adamek accounted for 15 of the Rockets' first half points. "Hey, they (Knuckles and Adamek) are fine players, but that's too many points to give up to anybody," said Michigan coach Bill Frieder. "Our defense was not very good in the first half. We made a couple adjustments on them and did a much better job defen- sing them in the second half. I think that was the key to the game." The first half started out to be all Toledo, as the visiting Rockets breezed to a 25-18 lead midway through the half, much to the delight of their cheering followers.'But the Wolverines began to play more aggressively on defense, fighting back for the halftime tie. AFTER THE INTERMISSION, however,RMichigan-decided to give its fans something to yell about. The Wolverines, behind the hot shooting of Mike McGee and Johnny Johnson, began to establish their running game in the second stanza, racing out to a 53- 44 lead for the rest of the half, stret- ching the margin to as much as 16 poin- ts before settling for the 12-point win. McGee led the Wolverines with 25 points, while Johnson tossed in 22 on 69 percent shooting from the floor. McGee's total puts him in the 21st spot on the all-time NCAA career scoring list. "The team played an exceptional game in the second half," said McGee. "When Toledo turned the ball over, we capitalized and got the baskets. I'd have to credit the whole team.'' THAD GARNER HAD an impressive game for the Wolverines, now 19-10 on the season, as he scored 12 points and hauled in five rebounds. Marty Bodnar added 10 points for Michigan. The loss ends Toledo's season at 21- 10, and marks the first time since 1975 that the Rockets have lost to the Wolverines. According to Michigan's Sports In- formation Department, if the Wolverines are scheduled to host their third-round game, tickets would go on sale at noon today.,But they added that Michigan will most likely be playing its next game on the road. Daily Photo by BRIAN MASCK MICHIGAN'S PAUL HEUERMAN (15) soars through the Rockets' defense for an easy bucket during the Wolverines' 80-68 NIT victory over Toledo. Sunday night at Criser Arena. Razor Sharp By DREW SHARP Crisler Arena fns .. h . . regained some respect The throng of supporters' screams echoed throughout the arena. Through 40 minutes of basketball, fans chortled their respective schools' fight songs, with palms clapping and fists raised. It was an atmosphere befitting In- diana's Assembly Hall or Kentucky's Rupp Arena, but oddly enough, the scene was Crisler Arena. Crisler Arena, labelled the haven of laid-back, unemotional fans, was rocking Sunday night when the Toldeo Rockets soared into town for the NIT showdown with Michigan. Provoked by the more than 5,000 enthusiastic Toldeo partisans, the Wolverine faithful put forward a performance which I could only describe in one word - spellbinding. I have long been one of many critics of Michigan's basketball fans. Their lethargic approach to supporting their team has been, in the least, a disgrace. Whereas other schools' fans would start cheering 30 minutes before the game and not let up until the conclusion, Michigan's fans would conceal their emotion until it was needed most. And when they would let loose with a few "Go Blues," they were barely strong enogh to wake up the officials. Sunday fight was different, however. Everyone knew that the Rockets' fans would congregate at Crisler in full force. It would not only be a battle between two basketball teams, but also, two basketball crowds.' Thegauntlet of challenge was thrown before the Michigan faithful by the Toldedo group, and they responded with a superlative effort. "They were wild" "Our guys were up there, 8,000 of them, singing 'The Victor's.' They were wild," said coach Bill Frieder following the game. "They were there about 20 ruinutes before the game. I've never seen that happen even when we had (Phil) Hubbard and (Rickey) Green. It was just a super job by them and hopefully they will be rewarded with a third NIT game at Crisler." I am in agreement with Frieder on that count. Never before have I wit- nessed a Michigan basketball crowd so alive, so energetic. It was obvious that the audience's enthusiasm spread to the players. Whenever the Rocket pep band would lead the Ohio partisan in a chorus of their "T-O-L-E-D-O, TOLEDO" cheer. The Wolverine band would retaliate in order to fire up the Michigan crowd. Dueling bands. I haven't seen that since my high school days when we would remain standing through the entire game screaming questionable remarks to the opposing team. As tacky as that may sound, it's that type of spirit which makes these games- fun to attend. And spirit was what Michigan's fans lacked alilseason long, up until Sunday night. Fans deserve accolades , Many times, we writers decide only to discuss the negative aspect of cer- tain matters. In the days leading up to the Michigan-Toledo contest, much of the talk was centered around the Wolverines' lazy crowd rather than the game itself. Apathy was weighed more than ability, and that's too bad. When a situation warrants congratulations, it should be expressed. Such a situation occured Sunday night. The lazy and the laid-back were not present, but were replaced by fans. 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If you know someone 15 to 22 years old I&TW ln Wl l1W TLTT1,'FT" NIT ROUNDUP: Purdue ed S WEST LAFAYETTE (AP) - For- ward Mike Scearce had three baskets and two assists in the final seven minutes last night helping the Purdue Boilermakers (19-10) hold off Dayton 50-46 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Dayton was forced to play most of the game without Mike Kanieski, its leading scorer and rebounder for the season. The 6-foot-10 junior center sprained his ankle taking a jump shot at the 17:02 mark of the first half. Keith Edmondson led Purdue with 17 points and Dayton's Kevin Conrad chipped in the same amount for the losers (18-11). Minnesota 84, Conti 66 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)-Trent Tucker scored a career-high 35 points last night as Minnesota rolled past Con- necticut 84-66 in a second-round National Invitation Tournament basketball game. Tucker made 14 of 17 shots from the field, and scored 18 points in the first half as the Gophers improved their season record to 19-10. Seven-foot-2 sophomore center Ran- dy Breuer added 19 points for the. Gophers, 16 in the second half. Breuer was hot as he made eight of 10 shots from the field. ges Dayton Duke 75, Alabama 70 DURHAM, N.C. (AP)-Kenny Den- nard scored 25 points and Vince Taylor added 17 as Duke beat Alabama 75-70 last night in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. College Basketball NIT oriental food to ~CHINK THE RU FORM F N ERLY LUCKY JIM'S ISN-N-CHIPS , take out 1232 PACKRD 994-3151 open Mlon -Sat, 11-9 Sun, 3-9 Purdue 50, Dayton 46 Minnesota 84, Connecticut 66 South Alabama 73, Georgia 72 Syracuse 77.Holy Cross 57 Duke 75, Alabama 70 West Virginia 77, Temple 76 (OT) Tulsa 44, UTEP 33 (halftime) SPOR TS ON TAP BASEBALL March 20 New York Tech at Miami (DH) March 21 Main, at Miami March 21 at Florida International MEN'S TENNIS March 19 KALAMAZOO COLLEGE, 2 p.m. WOMEN'S TENNIS March 17 EASTERN'MICHIGAN, 2:30 p.m. SOFTBALL March 19 Miami of Ohio at Columbia, South Carolina March 20 Trenton, at Columbia March 20 Adelphi, at Columbia March 21 Glassboro St., at Columbia March 21 West Virginia, at Columbia March 22 Massachusetts, at Columbia FELLOWSHIPS AVAIIABIE The [)epartmernr of iguistis tthe Un~iesity of Illinois at Chicago Circle offters o rk leading to the MA in theoretical and applied linguist ics, including an MA in TES( L. Teaching Enrish ton pei kers of Ote(rl Languaiges) A generous number of Fellowships are available to qualiyming gradui.te students. The hFlowuships inclidea st ipendof S 1,00(0 forthe academi x ar, plus a Tuic ion Fee Waiver. in addition, other kinds of financial aid are available to prospectixe students. The deadline for ap plications is April , 0,1981 For applRacion and irifor nmion, write to: Andrew Schiller. Head Department of Linguistics University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Box 0-8, Chicago, IL 60680 r- Have you been thinking about concentrating in ComuterScience? Prospective concentrators in Computer and Com- munication Sciences are cordially invited to attend an OPEN HOUSE sponsored by the Department of Computer and Communication Sciences on Tues- day, March 17, 4:00 p.m., 2050 Frieze Bldg. Ab . ' -FEATURING - GREEN BEER IRISH COFFEE ,d Limited Menu - Happy Hour Prices 4-8 pm and Music by ,GIVEAWAY The University Club Michigan Union The National Lawyers Guild La Raza Law Students present: "People's Governmetin INicarAgu1s!" P "9 with A SLIE SHOW and DISCUSSION by STUAT LEV, Ann Arbor Attorney . Local Guild Member . . . Delegate to the January 1981 N.G Factfinding Mission in Nicaragua, sponsored by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Justice.- -S ino Sndn urn-- -- ----- -- - - ---------- -- -- PLACE YOUR AD IN THE 1 1 I Summer Sublet Supplement APPEARING MARCH 29, 1981 Name Address Phone__ . 1 1 * Cost: $14.00. 1 I 1 untI March 23 1 Make checks payable toI 1 THE MICHIGAN DAILY * I I