Page 10 -The Michigan Daily- Monday, January 19, 1987 S ull court Hughes anti Vaught... +* PRESS ... best center on court By JEFF RUSH Syracuse center Rony Seikaly may have had the best game of any single player on the court in Michigan's 91-88 victory over Syracuse yesterday. But the Wolverines may have had the best center. Confused? Look at the stats. Seikaly was high in the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds, and he tied for honors with two blocked shots. The numbers of Mark Hughes, Michigan's starting center, were dwarfed by those of the 6-10 Seikaly. Hughes scored 12 and grabbed six boards. But Hughes isn't Michigan's only center. Since day one, he, Loy Vaught, and J.P. Oosterbaan have competed for the right to inherit the spot vacated by =All-American Roy Tarpley. YESTERDAY they proved fans may not have to dream of the days of Tarpley for long. Hughes and Vaught combined for 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots - numbers only slightly lower than Seikaly's. More importantly though, Hughes and Vaught together went 10-of-13 from the floor. Seikaly took 20 shots to make only nine. "I don't know who said they weren't any good," said Seikaly. "I think people who say they are not very good are underestimating them. Their big men are physical." "Either they (Hughes and Vaught) are better than they think, or we didn't do a good job defensively," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. EARLIER IN the season a coach may have been able to get away with saying that bad defense was the only reason Hughes and Vaught scored. The two were putting the ball in the hoop as often as Indiana coach Bob Knight makes it to press conferences. But the Wolverines weren't playing just any team yesterday. Syracuse came into the game 15-0, undefeated in the Big East, and ranked fifth in the AP poll. Teams don't accomplish any of that without having some notion of life beyond offense. The Orangemen have two outstanding big men in the form of Seikaly and Derrick Coleman, a 6-9 freshman forward from Detroit. Coleman was voted the Big East pre-season Freshman of the Year and has been outstanding for Syracuse. It wasn't a defensive lapse that allowed Hughes and Vaught to score. The two are simply learning they can play in college like they did in high school. EARLIER IN the season, said Hughes, he would have passed up many of the shots he took yesterday. When Indiana refused to come out and guard him at the top of the paint last Monday, he responded by putting the ball in the hoop. Though Hughes went only two-of-eight against Michigan State, against Syracuse "the shots were falling," he said. Vaught started the season well, scoring 12 points against Bradley. But before yesterday's game his average was down to 4.3 points per game. He seemed tentative going to the hoop. He wasn't tentative yesterday - he slammed three times. "I busted my butt to get down the floor," said Vaught about one of the second-half dunks. "Antoine (Joubert) found me open." SEVERAL WEEKS ago Joubert may have had to pull up and shoot a jumper. About 50 percent of Joubert's jumpers reach their mark. Seikaly and' Coleman each committed fouls while finding out that there's no stopping a Vaught dunk. "I think that I pretty much rose to the occasion when the team needed help," said Vaught. "I thought the dunks were a big lift." With Hughes and Vaught improving, opponents are unable to concentrate as much on Glen Rice. Rice had a fine offensive game yesterday, scoring 19 points from all over the floor. The result is a team that, regardless of whether it can win the Big Ten title, truly is showing signs of being able to play with the best in the conference. "There's no doubt they're very good basketball players," said Seikaly. "It's stupid for anyone to underestimate them because they're as good as anyone we've played or anyone we are going to play." Daily 'phote by SCOTT LITUCHY Michigan's Jack Kramer tangles with Sherman Douglas for a loose ball. She.._nan led the Orangemen with four turnovers. riJice Prep star to Michigan? q DARE TO BE DIFFERENT "A grossly unappreciated merchant, this store features a range of merchandise and a~ personable staff which makes shopping there a rasher pleasant experience-a sensation that is- quite rare in Ann Arbor stores." -The Michigan Daily Put together your own unique look from our beautiful selection of comfortable natural fiber apparel. Featuring best bets like silk long johns. South American Alpaca and Merino wool sweaters, silk stockings, ear wraps, and more-just come on in and ask! Open 7 days a week 325 E. Liberty 995-4222 By SCOTT G. MILLER Sean Higgins, a highly-touted high school basketball player from Los Angeles, has petitioned the NCAA to release him from the letter of intent he signed with UCLA. Higgins claims he signed the letter under duress. "I have spoken with (UCLA) coach (Walt) Hazzard, and told him I don't want to attend UCLA," said Higgins Saturday. "I want to attend Michigan." The 6-9 forward planned to announce at a November press conference his intention to play for Bill Frieder. But his mother applied pressure on him to stay closer to home. Higgins' sister is enrolled at Michigan, and his father lives in Detroit. Both received phone calls from Higgins the morning he signed his letter of intent informing them he decided on Michigan. Higgins refused to comment on the status of his appeal, but he said the NCAA has begun an investigation. "I have never heard of a precedent for that type of case or an appeal that worked," said Frieder. "So I'm not counting on much." Join the Daily's Sports staff Mass Meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. upstairs in the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St. [ATeichigEMITRY MATERIALS CHEMISTRY Guards help 'M' hand Syracuse first defeat Murd4 L IwU 0Uto hi noted autfwraedmiufit -ra frtdG9, Thbrua 6 5:30-4:30 p.m. kamAmph _Mwau (Continuedfrom Page1) a three-point play instead of two points, and I tried going into the guy while shooting it and I just missed." Michigan center Mark Hughes anticipated that Seikaly would get the ball with the game on the line. "He flashed over and I just bodied him up, bodied him up, and made him take an off-balance shot," said Hughes. THE GAME featured 16 lead changes and eight ties. While Syracuse's Seikaly and Detroit native Derrick Coleman (16 points, 11 rebounds) controlled the inside most of the way, Michigan's frontcourt played well, especially in the late stages of the game. Hughes (12), Glen Rice (19) and Loy Vaught (10) combined for 41 points, 16 over their collective season average. And no baskets were any bigger than Vaught's two dunks on consecutive Wolverine possessions with less than two minutes remaining. "(Michigan is) complaining about their big men," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, "and their big men don't do this and don't do that, and their big men were 10-for-13 in the ballgame." The two teams see-sawed during the first 20 minutes, and Michigan led at the break 39-36. Seikaly paced the Orangemen with 13 first- half points. Rice's 11 and Garde Thompson's 10 led the way for the Wolverines. GRANT HAD one of the best six-point halves a player could have, racking up three steals, causing numerous other Syracuse turnovers and holding Douglas, who came into the game with a 17.1 scoring average, scoreless. But Michigan's hard work in the first half almost went for naught, as the Orangemen scored the first six points of the second halfon a Seikaly three-point play and a Monroe three-point shot. But despite being in serious foul trouble (Syracuse was in the bonus situation just four minutes into the half), Michigan held tough. The Wolverines shot 58 percent from the field in the second half, while Syracuse shot less than 40 percent. A Thompson three-pointer gave Michigan a 61-59 lead, which it would never relinquish. Thompson, whom Boeheim called "the key to the ballgame," finished with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 4-of-7 from three-point land. Michigan State University Center for Fundamental Materials Research CHEMISTRY SENIORS: You can earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry and do research in a frontier area of Materials Chemistry, including: " Intercalation Compounds * New Composites " Pillared Clays " Ceramics " Alkalides & Electrides 0 Layered Metals For more information on our pioneering program mail the coupon below. 1 1 *Namef Address City State Zip _ *Phone ( Mail to Prof. T.J. Pinnavaia, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. ----------------------- MSU is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution WANTED USHEERS For Major Events Concerts MASS MEETING Wednesday, January 21,7:30 p.m. Anderson Room Michigan Union VETERAN USHER - Those who have ushered Major Events concerts in the past. NEW USHERS - Those who would like to usher Major Events concerts.