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Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Sunday, November 23, 1986
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General Grant, Blue scalp the Braves
SPORTS EXTRA
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Ninety-seven years of editorialfreedom
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Sunday, November 23,1986
SPOf
By SCOTT G. MILLER
Add fortune telling to Michigan
basketball coach Bill Frieder's
repertoire.
Earlier in the week Frieder
predicted that his team needed to
score over 100 points to defeat
Bradley because he felt the Braves
would pass the century mark.
HE was right.
The Wolverines repelled a late
Bradley charge to open the regular
season with a 115-107 victory at
Crisler Arena in the first round of
the Coca-Cola National Invitational
Tournament Classic. The 6,578 in
attendance witnessed a fan-
pleasing, wide-open contest.
"Hell, it wasn't fun to me," said
Frieder. "It was just a hard game.
It's the way the guys like to play,
but we have a lot of improvement
to do."
MICHIGAN made the
necessary improvements at halftime
to overcome a 53-51 Brave
advantage. A combination of bad
shooting and poor shot selection
had the Wolverines trailing by as
many as 11 points during the first
stanza. Frieder issued a severe
tongue lashing to his players in the
locker room.
"(Frieder) just bawled me out
real good," said Grant, who led
Michigan with 34 points. "He said
some interesting things I can't
repeat. It woke me and the team
up.
The wake-up call generated 14
consecutive Michigan points to
start the second half. Garde
Thompson and Glen Rice led the
onslaught with three hoops apiece.
Thompson, who scored 10 on the
game, later left with a bruised knee,
and his prognosis for round two is
uncertain.
RICE, a sophomore, showed
that last season's brief but brilliant
performances can be staged over a
full game. In 36 minutes, he netted
27 points, grabbed a team-high 19
rebounds, and made two major-
league slam dunks.
"It's good that coach is jumping
on us," said Rice. "It made us go
out and work harder." -
All of the new front-line players
worked hard as Michigan dominated
the boards, outrebounding Bradley
by a 61-42 margin.
"I THINK Bill was concerned
about his inside people, and I just
felt they did a great job against us,"
said Brave coach Stan Albeck.
Loy Vaught led the
inexperienced inside players. In his
first collegiate game, Vaught turned
in a stellar effort in only 12
minutes of playing time. The
redshirt freshman scored 12 points,
mostly on bank shots, to go along
with 12 rebounds.
"They were good rebounders,"
said Vaught, "but I was so hyped
up, I was jumping over them."
. MARK HUGHES, Mike
Griffin, and J.P. Oosterbaan also
performed solidly in their first
extensive college action. Hughes
had four points and four rebounds,
and Griffin had seven boards, four
assists, and two points. Oosterbaan
shot 100 percent from the field and
the free throw line in limited
playing time. He scored eight
points.
"I knew they (the new players)
would do a great job," said Grant.
"I'm going to go and kiss them."
Bradley fans had a warm feeling
for the great job done by guard
Hersey Hawkins. The junior All-
America candidate treated the crowd
to 37 points. He tallied 10 of the
Braves' first 15 points, including a
dazzling dunk to open the Bradley
scoring.
"THAT DUNK in the early
part of the game made us look like
junior high school players," said
Frieder.
Michigan players also looked
like junior high players trying to
defend junior Len Bertolini, who
bombed five-of-seven three-point
shots. Four of the triples came in
the second half and helped cut a 15-
point Wolverine advantage.
Unfortunately for the Braves, their
other shooters went 6-of-22 from
beyond the three-point line. The
misses yielded many long rebounds.
"We knew they were going to
fire it up, and that really played into
our hands," said Frieder. "If we
could get somebody to rebound then
we could come out in transition a
little better."
An effective transition allowed
the Wolverines to score the most
points in a single game since the
1977 season, when they racked up
117 against Eastern Michigan.
Michigan, however, yielded the
most points since a 108-94 loss at
the University of Nevada-Las Vegas
during the 1975-76 campaign.
"If you play like that in a Big
Ten game, you're going to be 0-
48," said Frieder.
Whether that prediction will
come true is yet to be decided.
Run, gun, and won
Vol. XCVII - No. 58-A
Copyright 1986
The Michigan Daily
Bo- uet
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Wolverines hold off Buckeyes,
Daily Photo by PETE ROSS
Michigan center J.P. Oosterbaan goes up for two of his eight points during
Friday's 115-107 victory over Bradley in the first round of the NIT
basketball tournament.
TiP of the Kap
By Rick Kaplan
Threepoint field goal...
... adds points, excitement
Three for the price of two. It's new and
improved college basketball.
The game has a different slant this year.
Actually, it's not a slant. It's an arc, and it lies
19 feet, 9 inches from the basket. After its first
appearance in Crisler Arena, the NCAA's new
three-point line has already led to a change in
the way the game is played.
B R A D L E Y' S Len Bertolini gave
Michigan's crowd of 6,578 a glimpse at the
future of college basketball Friday night in the
Wolverines' 115-107 win. The stocky 6-3
junior from Chicago had never scored more than
14 points in a game, but that was back in the
lays when a shot was a shot. By firing in five
three-pointers, and 22 points, against Michigan,
Bertolini taught his teammates how to stop
worrying and love the bomb.
"(The rule) will change a lot of things this
year," Bertolini said. "It's going to get more
playing time for players like me who can shoot
it. I'll be able to make bigger contributions."
If he can hit five-of-seven from three-point
range all season, Bertolini will not juist
contribute. He'll become an important offensive
weapon.,
PLAYERS like Bertolini and Bradley guard
Hersey Hawkins (37 points) can keep their team
in the game with the triple threat. The Braves
trailed by 19 points with four minutes to play.
Three minutes later, they were within seven and
had the ball. If not for a few late turnovers,
Bradley could have had an chance to win.
In the past, a 19-point edge with four
minutes to play was the fat lady's cue to sing
"Send in the Clowns."
Michigan's preparation for the contest did
not treat the three-pointer as a joke. "We
expected (the up-tempo game)," said Wolverine
coach Bill Frieder. "I'm surprised they only
took 29 three-point shots. I was looking for
about 40.+
EVEN Michigan guard Gary Grant, regarded
as one of the nation's top defensive players,
was forced to change his style. Bertolini and
Hawkins "are both great shooters," Grant said.
"If you leave one open, he is going to bury it.
It got so bad that when they came down on the
two-on-one break, I was covering the three-
point shooter instead of the guy going for the
layup, because I felt they could pull up at any
time and hit that shot."
Cold outside
Will the three-point shot pull up Michigan
from its projected middle-of-the-pack Big Ten
finish? Probably not.
Despite reports that the Wolverines will be
one of the country's top beneficiaries of the
new rule, they sank just one-of-10 three point
attempts Friday. "As I keep saying," Frieder
said, "our guys think they can shoot the three-
point play, but I never see it going in. And I
haven't goddamn changed my mind about that.
I'd like to see it go in pretty soon."
GRANT tried to prove to his coach that he
can hit the bomb, but the plan exploded. "The
first half, I took some bad shots," the junior
said. "I was trying to get that first three-pointer
out of my mind, and go from there. But it
didn't happen that way. I got bawled out at
halftime." At the half Grant was oh-for-four,
and the team was oh-for-eight from long range.
Michigan's inexperienced front court also
hinders the use of the three-point shot. Hitting
the three-pointer as a zone breaker, to open up
the inside for the forwards, is much more
important to teams with veteran big men, like
Purdue and Indiana.
While Michigan may not be improved by
the three-point rule, college basketball is. "It
makes the game more exciting for the fans. It
makes the game more exciting for the players,"
said Bertolini.
"I think it's great for the game," said Bradley
coach Stan Albeck. "I'd rather watch a game
like that (115-107) than take NoDoz and watch
a game that's 50-45."
By PHIL NUSSEL
Special to the Daily
COLUMBUS - Ohio State kicker Matt
Frantz may have missed the game-winning field
goal with a minute left yesterday, but to the
Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines, the
kick was good, very good.
It gave Bo Schembechler and his boys a
clutch 26-24 victory over the vaunted Buckeyes
and a trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Calif.
to meet Arizona State.
"IT WAS a heck of a game and I'm pleased
that we won it," said a grinning Schembechler,
who became the winningest coach in Michigan
football history with 166 wins. "And I am
particularly happy because it will be the first
time for any of these players to go to the Rose
Bowl.
"This is one of the finest squads I've ever
had."
Buckeye head coach Earle Bruce will now
take his team (7-1, 9-3) to the Cotton Bowl. It
will be OSU's first appearance there. "We're
pleased to play in a New Year's Day game," he
said. "But when you are Big Ten co-champs,
and have the championship game in your grasp,
it's a letdown when you don't win It's going to
take a while to get over this one."
MICHIGAN (7-1 Big Ten, 10-1 overall)
had the game under control with 5:26 left,
moving the ball to OSU's 44, but with 3:30
left, Thomas Wilcher fumbled and roverback
Sonny Gordon covered it on the 41. The Bucks
moved the ball to Michigan's 36 and then failed
to move on two straight plays.
On third and 10, quarterback Jim Karsatos
went short to his favorite target, Cris Carter,
who was hauled out of bounds two yards short
of the first down by Erik Campbell. Bruce then
decided to go with Frantz on the 45-yard
attempt, which went just 'Lft of the mark.
"It was a tough decision, but you have to
take that chance," Bruce said.
"I THOUGHT it was good," a tearful
Frantz said. "I just hooked it a little to the left.
I just can't believe it."
Unlike the Ohio State-Michigan games of
old, yesterday's clash before an Ohio Stadium
record crowd of 90,674 was an offensive
explosion.
JAMIE Morris keyed the offense with a
career-high 210 yards, 150 in the second half.
He also scored a pair of touchdowns. Jim
Harbaugh made good on his "guaranteed
victory," hitting 19-of-29 passes for 261 yards.
"Morris did a great job," said Schembechler.
"When was the last time any back got more
than 200 yards against Ohio State?"
MICHIGAN
Min FG/A FT/A R
Joubert 31 6/20 6/8 4
Rice 36 11/20 5/7 19
Hughes 23 2/6 0/0 4
Grant 37 15/27 3/4 4
Th'pson 30 5/9 0/0 5
Oo'baan 8 3/3 2/2 1
Griffin 23 1/4 0/0 7
Vaught 12 6/11 0/0 12
Team Rebounds S
A
2
0
0
7
6
0
4
2
PF
1
2
2
3
3
3
4
3
TP
18
27
4
34
10
8
2
12
T-dd Schulte (41) and Bob Perryman (right) celebrate Michigan's Rose Bowl-clinching, 26-24 victory.
Totals 200 49/100 16/21 61 21 21 115
BRADLEY
Mi nFG/A FT/A R A PF TP
Powell 38 8/11 4/5 9 1 2 20
Trimpe 23 1/8 0/1 5 3 2 3
,Jackson 26 3/7 0/0 6 1 3 6
Manuel 25 4/11 2/2 3 $ 5 12
Ilawkins 39 13/24 9/10 9 1 0 37
Bertolini 20 6/9 5/6 0 2 4 22
Thomas 10 1/S 0/0 1 0 0 2
.Tones 14 1/4 0/0 7 0 2 2
Wilson 4 0/2 0/0 0 0 0 0
Mordini 1 1/1 0/0 0 0 1 3
Team Rebounds 2
Totals 200 38/82 20/24 42 13 19 107
Three-point goals: BU - Bertolini, 5/7;
Hawkins, 2/10; Manuel, 2/5; Mordini,
1/1; Trimpe, 1/4; Wilson, 0/2. UM -
joubert, 0/1; Rice, 0/1; Grant, 1/6;
Thompson, 0/2.
After Ohio State scored a touchdown on its
initial possession, Michigan struck back with a
drive down to OSU's 10-yard line, but
Michigan had to settle for a Mike Gillette field
goal.
THE BAD news continued on the next
Buckeye series. Vince Workman (126 yards) cut
back against the grain and broke open for a 46-
yard touchdown.
The Wolverines exploded on their first
possession of the third quarter, going 83 yards
on 14 plays. Fullback Bob Perryman made the
key play when he caught a bobbled pass at the
12 and rumbled to the seven. A play later,
Morris went into the endzone from four yards
out; tightening the margin to 14-13.
BUT OSU came right back with a drive to
Michigan's 10, but settled for a 27-yard Frantz
field goal.
Then the Jamie show cranked up. Morris
took off for a 52-yard dash to OSU's 24 to set
up his 8-yard touchdown a play. later. The
Wolverines failed on the two-point conversion
when Chris Spielman (29 tackles on the day)
knocked down intended receiver Jeff Brown.
The Wolverine offense could not be stopped
as it took the ball from their own 15 in eight
plays to go up 26-17 on a seven-yard Thomas
Wilcher grind.
IT RUBBED off on the defense as it
stuffed the Buckeyes on the next drive when
linebacker Andre McIntyre nabbed an
interception at the OSU 35. Michigan tried a
47-yard field goal, but OSU tackle Darryl Lee
blocked it, giving the Buckeyes the ball on
their 46 yard line.
Three plays later Karsatos hit Carter from 17
yards out for another touchdown, making it 26-
24, but that was all.
And to Michgan, that was good, very good.
B
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Scoring
Bradley
MICHIGAN
Attendance:
1
53
51
6,578
2' T
S4 107
64 115