BASKETBALL continued from page 1 lead of their own. But when Mills fouled out with 5:30 remaining and Michigan leading 68-66, the Wolverines hopes to beat No. 6 Arizona all but disappeared. Mills had starred offensively with 16 points despite playing only 21 minutes, six in the second half. Any hope Michigan had disintegrated when their other experienced big man, Loy Vaught, fouled out with the Wildcats leading by two with 2:44 left. "We felt if we could get one of the two big guys in foul trouble that it would hurt them because we felt they only had three guys inside that they could count on," Arizona coach Lute Olson said. "The fact that Mills only got 21 minutes was certainly the key." Michigan coach Steve Fisher, who suffered his first loss as a head coach after leading the Wolverines to the national championship said, "(Olson) had a game plan that was to take the ball inside, to get Michigan's big guys in foul trouble. It worked. We did not do a good job of stopping that. I did not do a good enough job stopping it. You stop in preparation and we weren't prepared." Rooks led a balanced Arizona scoring attack with 20 points. Four other Wildcats placed in double figures - Jud Buechler (11), Matt Othick (13), Williams (12) and Wayne Womack (12). Rumeal Robinson led all scorers with 27 points. "It's obvious that Rumeal Robinson is an All-American," Olson said. "He makes you know where he is all the time in your defense and he's so strong when he makes his drives - he's difficult to deal with in the paint." The Massachusetts native found it tough to carry a team lacking its inside game. Robinson hit his first two free throws to give Michigan its first lead at 12-11, and conjured up images of the NCAA championship game. But after hitting his first two, he shot only four of ten from the charity stripe to go with 9-of-20 field goal shooting (3-11 on three- pointers). "We didn't work hard enough to get the ball inside, "Fisher said. "I don't know how many three- pointers we threw up (20), but we didn't make too many of them (5). We were too quick to shoot the three." The Michigan Daily -- Sports Monday - November 27, 1989 - Page 5 / Early-season loss by Steven Cohen Daily Basketball Writer SPRINGFIELD, MA - Everyone knew that Michigan's first loss under new coach Steve Fisher would happen sooner or later. But when it did happen it came suddenly and surprisingly. Though they were facing a strong Arizona squad, which has compiled a 64-7 record the past two seasons, the fourth-ranked Michigan team was expected to triumph over No. 6 Arizona. After all, they are the defending national champions. One early loss does nothing to diminish Michigan's hopes of repeating as national champions. "Every loss is disappointing," Michigan forward Loy Vaught said. "This one is the same as the others. But in a crazy way it might have been good to get it (the loss) out of our system." Arizona had purged themselves on November 9 against the Australian team. Wildcat coach Lute Olson deliberately avoided playing his best players in order to quell media speculation about his starting rotation. Arizona, members of the AP top 10 the past 33 weeks, lost to the Aussies, 70-61. Butch Henry, Arizona's Sports Information Director, observed that Olson didn't care whether he won or lost the game, hoping the experience would "humble" his team. Duly humbled, the Wildcats came out against Michigan with great intensity and jumped out to a 46- 41 halftime lead with a never-abating fire in their eyes. Following the Tip-off Classic, the Wolverines understood that they will not repeat as national champions unless they improve in certain areas. But more than mere awareness, the Michigan players seemed intent on making sure the necessary changes occur. Several Michigan weaknesses were exposed by Arizona, and Olson explained his game plan. "We tried to change things up defensively for them so they never could get into a rhythm," he said. "We changed from zone to man-to-man to shake them up. (We planned) to get the big people in foul trouble; we knew that if we could get them into foul trouble, it would be to our benefit. We had to board. We couldn't give them a lot of second shots." Olson thought that Michigan will be able to overcome these situations in the future. "Michigan is primarily a man-to-man team. The team doesn't attack the zone. I'm sure that Michigan will handle the zone well as they play with it." Fisher's use of the three-guard offense after his big men got into foul trouble might be questioned. Though Michael Talley and Demetrius Calip played effectively, the unused James Voskuil, who scored 11 points on five-for-six shooting against Poland, might have made a difference. Honorably, Fisher accepted responsibility for the loss and acknowledged he would study the films in an effort to avoid future defeats. Fisher said, "We told our kids after the game that we played poorly with our inside defense, but it starts at the top. I am the guy who has to get us prepared." And maybe that will bring the Wolverines back to season-ending form. AP Photo Rumeal Robinson watches as the ball, and the game, slip away from the Wolverines Saturday. Robinson led the scoring with 27 points, only to see Michigan's effort come up short in their 82-75 loss to Arizona. Robinson and Co. hoping Boston is home sweet home Spartans finish off Michigan and its 1-17 Big Ten season by Steven Cohen Daily Basketball Writer BOSTON - Tonight in the second game of Rumeal Robinson's homecoming weekend, Michigan takes the court against Boston University on the parquet floor of Boston Garden. Robinson, who led Cambridge Rindge & Latin high school to a state championship in 1986, will be reunited with the Terriers' coach Mike Jarvis, who coached him in high school. The Terriers, 21-9 last season, were picked by five of the seven coaches in the North Atlantic Conference to win the division despite losing starting guards Tony Dacosta and Jeff Timberlake. Senior center Ron Moses and senior point guard Steven Key lead the Terriers. Moses was the NAC's leading rebounder last season and Key is the Terriers' leading returning scorer at 10.3 points per game. BU defeated Indiana State, 73- 60, Saturday night as Moses scored 21 points and Key chipped in 17. Playing a capable opponent and having lost a game should inspire Michigan. "It won't be a game taken lightly," Robinson said. "It will be a heavily contested game. No one likes to lose two in a row." The hometown hero had an entourage of 17 relatives and friends at the game in Springfield. by Theodore Cox Daily Sports Writer Banner..... day.. bli~ t ??sil e tre * ust ..te nnci~rm ;.r;. h i~9NCA .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? irn t ' EAST LANSING - Michigan State served the ball into the center of the Wolverine defense. Four Michigan players converged at once, forming a tight huddle. They all reached out, only to tangle arms, and watched the ball bounce awkwardly between them. That final error Wednesday night, which gave Michigan State (4-14) the match 8-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-6, was a fitting finish to the Wolverines' 1-17 Big Ten season. In the opening game, the East Lansing crowd witnessed Mich- igan's competitive potential. The Wolverines jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind the strong serving of middle hitter Kim Clover. "They started out with really tough serving," Spartan coach Ginger Mayson said. "It wasn't so much our passing, it was definitely their serving. That really concerned me because they were hitting our primary passers and really abusing them." Michigan's whole offense seem- ed to flow early on as their passing and hitting connected for several points. "We were really fired up during warm-up," Michigan outside hitter Karen Marshall said. "I think going into it knowing it's our last game gave everyone that extra effort at the start. There are times when we just sort of click when we play together; we're talking, we're mak- ing eye contact. That happened during warm-up, which led into the first game, but after that we started to break down." Michigan first came apart when Marshall and Carla Hunter collided in the first game. Marshall badly bruised her left hand, forcing her to the sideline for some ice. The typical Michigan mistakes returned for the duration of the evening. Fumbled passes and miss- ed service returns set up several Spartan kills by Kristine Bailey and Becky Belanger, who combined for 33 spikes. The Spartans' blocking game also came on strong in the last two games - led by Dawn Andrews, who finished with six block assists. "Our communication broke down, we didn't receive-serve as aggressively as we did the first game and that pretty much did it," Hunter said. Michigan coach Joyce Davis agreed. "Once again we had diff- iculty executing, executing." The defensive play of Mich- igan's Clover kept Michigan in the. match. She had four block solos to unofficially tie her for the- Wolverine career blocking record at 104 with fellow senior Hunter. .......... . ............ ........... . ::a I p4Th, ~n . .............v __ .i I UMMM It's Time U RAM AL To Pla y. IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS Wrestling Meet Fraternity, Residence Hall, All Campus Tuesday, November 28, 1989, 11 am - 4:30 pm Intramural Sports Building Ice Hockey All Campus Tuesday, December 5, 1989, 11 am - 4:30 pm Intramural Sports Building Ice Hockey Officials Clinic All Campus Wednesday, December 6, 1989,6:30 pm Intramural Sports Building Visit your Intramural or Recreational Sports Department and sign up today! General Motors is proud to be associated with your campus intramural recreational sports and activities.