Women's Basketball vs. Michigan State Friday, 7:30 p.m. Crisler Arena SPORTS Men's Basketball vs. Indiana Sunday, 2 p.m. Crisler Arena The Michigan Daily Wednesday, March 4, 1992 Page 8 * - IRW 'M' basketball falls to OSU, 77-66 Albert Lin Wolverine turnovers ignite late 23-9 Buckeye run Experience still escapes Blue COLUMBUS - Imagine you are covering a basketball game say, last night's Michigan-Ohio State matchup. The game has been going relatively well from your perspective. Both teams have had their ups and downs, but those of one have balanced out those of the other. You usually keep track of every score, but every- thing is progressing so smoothly tonight that you start to keep track of what happens on every possession. It has never been this easy. Both sides are patiently running their offenses, allowing you ample time to take notes. Michigan takes a 57-52 lead by forcing the Buckeyes into miscues on eight consecutive posses- sions. The Wolverines are playing well. Aaah, you think. I can sit back and watch them cruise to a victory. With 6:05 left in the contest, Chris Jent throws in a short hook over Juwan Howard. It breaks an 8-0 Wolverine run, but you attach no further significance. How wrong you are. As you are jotting down Jent's score, you glance up and see Jalen Rose throw the ball past Jimmy King and into the backcourt. Ohio State's Mark Baker beats King to the ball and takes it in for an acrobatic layup. Whoa, time to write a little quicker you think. You begin to fill in the blanks when the crowd roars. You look up and there goes Jent. What happened? Jent streaks in and misses the layup, but Jim Jackson is there for the tip. Another Michigan turnover. O.K., Steve, you tell coach Fisher. Time to take a T.O. You tell yourself the team needs it, but deep down inside you know you just want to catch up on your notes. Just as you finish your thought the crowd roars again. There goes Lawrence Funderburke, stepping around Howard and tipping the ball away. Funderburke goes in for an uncontested jam. Now you are really scrambling. Ohio State has scored eight points in 52 seconds. Boom, Boom, Boom, BOOM! Thankfully, the Funderburke breakaway af- fords the Michigan coaching staff the opportunity to call that timeout. Thanks, Fish, you say to yourself. You finish writing down what has just happened, and you realize thistis it. The Wolverines had come back with big runs twice earlier in the game to take leads. But you know it will not happen now, because it is crunch time. And the young Wolverines have not yet discovered, what it takes to hold a lead against a good team down the stretch. The veteran Buckeyes sat back, waited and then pounced when Michigan began to panic. The Wolverines tried to rush the tempo each of those times down the court but before the team was able to set up its offense, an Ohio State player was down at the other end scoring. The rest of the game goes as you thought, with the Buckeyes taking a 77-66 victory. Michigan was unable to find that extra something it needed. Too bad, you think. The Wolverines played a good game. By the end of the season, you tell yourself, they will be making the correct decisions. by Joni Durst Daily Basketball Writer COLUMBUS - Wolverine coach Steve Fisher had an idea to rely on his experience. For the first time since the Wolverines faced Notre Dame seven games ago, Michigan severed its force of five frosh starters. James Voskuil and Michael Talley replaced Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, who both had a poor outing in the Wolverines' last game at Wisconsin. But Michigan (8-7 Big Ten, 17-8 overall) could not muster enough experience to overcome Ohio State (12-3, 20-5). After the Wolverines led, 36-32, at the midway point, the two teams exchanged leads through most of the second half. Then the Buckeyes showed why they're the fifth-ranked team in the nation. With 6:05 left in the contest, Ohio State went on a 23- 9 run to clinch its 77-66 victory. Though Michigan outscored the Buckeyes on points off turnovers, 24-12, Ohio State's ultimate success was keyed by three consecutive con- versions off steals. Mark Baker started the Buckeye run with a swipe and a lay-in, followed by a Jimmy Jackson tip-in, and a Lawrence Fun- derburke slam. "In the second half, we were holding our own until that stretch where we had three straight turnovers," Fisher said. "I think one turnover just led to the next." The steals not only sparked the Ohio State offense, but marked an improvement in its overall defense. The Buckeyes held Michigan to 13- for-37 shooting from the floor (35 percent) for the second half. In addi- tion, their inside defense forced the Wolverines to miss some easy low- post shots during the final critical minutes. "I think in the stretch down in the second half, our defense came out clawing and scratching," Ohio State coach Randy Ayers said. "(At the half) we just talked about coming out more aggressive." Despite the loss, Michigan demonstrated an intensity that was absent during its 18-point loss to Wisconsin. An improvement in ball movement broke down Ohio State's interior defense, allowing the Wolverines to exploit their inside game. They controlled the first half by dominating the Buckeyes on the boards, especially at the offensive end. King and Jackson performed with the desire to return to their starting roles. In the first half alone, Jackson was 5-for-5 from the floor, pulled down the three offensive boards, and notched three assists. King tallied eight points and four re- bounds. "As for the quality of our effort, if we have that effort in every game, we're going to win," Fisher said. "We have to take the good things we did and keep them." Ohio State's All-American Jack- son led all scorers with 25. Chris Webber led Michigan with 17 points. MICHIGAN (66) F4 FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pts. Webber 34 8-17 1-4 7-12 3 3 17 Voskuil 11 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 4 2 Howard 30 2-10 2-4 3-9 2 1 6 Rose 36 4-16 2-4 0-3 5 1 10 Tanley 18 0-2 0-0 0-2 1 3 0 Jackson 23 5-8 0 s3 5-5 4 2 10 Riley 14 4-4 1-2 1-3 0 4 9 King 26 5-9 0-0 2-8 1 2 10 Hunter 8 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 2 Totals 200 30-72 6-15 20-4216 20 66 OHIO STATE (77 F4 FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pts. Jent 32 6-12 2-2 1-3 3 2 15 Jackson 37 9-15 5-7 3-13 6 0 25 Pburke 35 3-7 3-4 1-10 1 2 9 Baker 38 5-10 8-9 1-1 6 1 18 Brown 17 2-4 2-2 0-0 0 3 6 Robinson 11 0-0 0-2 0-3 0 1 0 Dudley 18 0-0 4-4 2-3 1 3 4, Skelon 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 O Davis 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hall 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Brandwie 3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 25-50 24-30 8-35 17 14 77 Michigan.............36 30 66 Ohio State .......... 32 45 - 77 At St. John Arena; A-13,276 (paid) Michigan's Juwan Howard goes up for a shot against Ohio State's Ricky Dudley during first half action in the Buckeye's 77-66 victory last night in Columbus. Felsner' s record sparks season-ending party at Yost by Rod Loewenthal Daily Hockey Writer Mardi Gras ended last night and with it came the close of the Michigan hockey team's 1991-92 regular season. The Wolverines made the most of Fat Tuesday with goals and celebrations as they put away Bowling Green as a hun- gry Creole would a plate of Cajun rice, 4- 2. Michigan's star forward and Hobey Baker hopeful Denny Felsner once again stood on the lead float in the parade of Wolverine scoring. His first goal and second point of the night put Michigan (22-7-3 CCHA, 28-7-3 overall) solidly in front, 3-0. At 7:52, Felsner gained control of a diving Brian Wiseman tap pass. The senior took the puck and squeezed it past Bowling Green's frosh goaltender Will Clarke to notch his 34th goal on the sea- son. The goal and the earlier assist boosted Felsner past Dave Debol into the top position on Michigan's all-time career point list. The score gave Felsner his 247th career point and capped a second- period Wolverine scoring surge. "It was good to see him get that goal at home," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "He's been a great player here for four years. He's earned it, he's played exceptionally for Michigan as long as he's been here." Following Felsner's goal Wiseman flipped Felsner the record-breaking puck. Moments later the referee stopped play and let the public announcer broadcast Felsner's accomplishment to the over 5,300 faithful gathered at Yost. "It was just a matter of time," Felsner said of his feat. "It came at a good time. I was happy to do it at home. I'm glad it's done, it's a weight off my shoulders." Both teams skated to a scoreless tie at the end of the first period. Constant Bowling Green pressure kept the puck in the Wolverine zone for most of the period where Michigan goaltender Steve Shields battled against Falcon shots. "They came out good," Berenson said. "I think they did everything they wanted to. Shields really kept us in the game." Shields was one of the few bright spots early on for the Wolverines and his stingy play continued into the second pe- riod. Fortunately for Shields and the rest of the Wolverines, Michigan's offense flared like a cayenne pepper at the begin- ning of the second period. At 2:27 into the period, rookie Rick Willis took a Mike Stone feed and scored Michigan's first goal of the night and his first goal of his career. Wiseman and Felsner followed with goals, and Michigan headed into the lockerroom with a 3-0 lead. Shields continued to make save after save in the third period and ended up with 22 on the night. He did not get the shutout, however, as the Falcons got a couple of third period goals. And then you realize the season is almost over. seems like it is too late for Michigan to learn what takes down the stretch. Oh well, you think, at least will be easier to take notes. It it it Bigelow falls short in 200m backstroke I I by Chad Safran Daily Sports Writer In 1988, Michigan's Steve Bigelow surprised the swimming community when he qualified for the Olympic team in the men's 200-me- ter backstroke at the age of 17. This time no surprise could be found as Bigelow finished ninth in the morn- ing preliminaries at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team Selection Meet. Bigelow touched the wall with a time of 2:02.37. David Berkoff of Team Foxcatcher qualified ahead of the Michigan junior with a personal- best time of 2:01.45. The men's 100-meter freestyle field included another Wolverine swimmer, Noel Strauss, who was competing against the likes of 1988 gold-medalist Matt Biondi and Tom Jaeger. Strauss completed his pre- liminary with a time of 51.78, plac- ing him 34th. The Michigan women's team fi- nally entered the pool yesterday when rookie Alecia Humphrey made her Olympic Trials debut. She ended up in 25th place with a time of 1:04.61. The record-breaking streak of the meet's previous day continued when Royce Sharp broke the American record in the finals of the 200-meter backstroke. Sharp, who will swim for Michigan next year, shaved the mark down to the time of 1:58.66. Tripp Schwenk grabbed the second spot with a swim of 1:58.97. The record breaking was not through for the day as Janie Wagstaff broke her own American record with a time of 1:00.84. Lea Loveless recorded a time of 1:01.17 for second place. Janet Evans secured a spot on the squad with a time of 4:09.47 in the finals of the women's 400 freestyle. Biondi earned a chance to repeat his victory of four years ago with a victorious time of :49.31 in the men's 100 freestyle. v LS5 O I U The Medical School Information Fair Saturday, March 7 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Michigan Union r. WHAT'S HAPPENING Information Fair Pendleton Room 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Stop by and see a Jostens representative, March 4-6 * 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. RECREATIONAL SPORTS Intramural Sports Program Admissions Deans' Panel noon - 1:00 p.m. Anderson Room I