UV Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Sunday, November 23, 1986 v U v w w w w w. qlw lqw 7 mr t mr General Grant, Blue scalp the Braves SPORTS EXTRA e 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 0f Bue rc 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 C{ 'iN Scoring Bradley MICHIGAN Attendance: 1 53 51 6,578 2' T S4 107 64 115