Men's Tennis vs. Eastern Michigan Tomorrow, 2 p.m. Liberty Sports Complex S Women's Gymnastics vs. Michigan State Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena Wolverines tame Nittany Lions, 81-72 0. Fun perfect cure for Blue's ills Michigan ends losing streak with early run t _ E ntering last night's game against Penn State, the Michigan basketball team had nothing to lose.i The Nittany Lions were without the services of leading scorer John Amaechi (16.8 ppg) on this night and would clearly be no match for the Wolverines- And they were not, falling by a deceiving 81-72 count, after being down by as many as 27 in the second half. The reality is that the Wolverines, coming off two straight losses - including a gut-wrenching defeat to Purdue Sunday - had everything to gain True, practically speaking, it brought them one step closer to at least a share of the Big Ten title.moa But this game was important rm mTh for less profound reasons. This game - which Scompletely reeked of fun from Sthe outset - may have been just what the doctor ordered for Michigan, particularly with the tension of the NCAA tourney TIM looming on the horizon. RARDIN "We tried to get back into a Rardin rhythm after Purdue," Ray to Go Jackson said. "I think we did that." "It was a fun game," Dugan Fife said. "We kind of let it get away from us, but that won't happen in a close game. After intense games like Purdue and Wisconsin, it was nice." Just ask senior guard Jason Bossard - who lit up the scoreboard for a career-high 14 in his last game at Crisler Arena - how nice it was. Bossard hit four-of-six shots from three-point range, and one series in particular highlighted just how fun this game was. With 13:55 to go, Bossard nailed an NBA-distance triple that nearly hit the banners above to extend Michigan's lead to a scant 23. Twenty seconds later, he pushed the ball up the floor with Jalen Rose on a two-on-one opportunity. Sure, he could've thrown the wide-open alley-oop to Rose for an easy deuce, but no, this would be Bossard's night to shine. He calmly pulled up for the fade-away three on the left side, admiring it as it dropped through, much to the delight of the crowd, and especially to the delight of his teammates. "He's my man," said Fife, who was spotted breaking a smile as Bossard returned to the huddle during a timeout shortly thereafter. "There's no better way to go out as a senior." See RARDIN, Page 9 By RACHEL BACHMAN DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER On the night that Penn State's Goliath was relegated to the bench, Michigan's "Davids" left the side- lines. Their emotional lift helped the Wolverines to an 81-72 victory last night, giving Michigan a tie with Purdue for first place in the confer- ence. Penn State (5-12 Big Ten, 12-14 overall) junior center John Amaechi was out with a sprained ankle, and seniors Jason Bossard and Emerson Moore kept No. 8 Michigan (13-4, 21-6) and the crowd in the game. Bossard, 4-for-6 from three point range, had a career-high 14 points. "The best part of the game was Jason Bossard," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "I'm really happy for him. It was a great way for him to finish his career." Bossard broke his old scoring mark by four on his last night in Crisler Arena. "It'll be one of my fonder memo- ries as a player," Bossard said. "It's finally hit me that the ball's going to stop bouncing." With 13:33 left in the game, Bossard took a pass from Makhtar Ndiaye coast-to-coast, pulled up and nailed a baseline jumper from behind the arc to send the crowd into fits. The shot put the Wolverines up, 59-33. Ndiaye swished two free throws with 9:11 to go, giving Michigan its biggest lead of the game, and pushing the score to 68-41. Penn State guard Rahsaan Carlton led a comeback attempt, knocking down two threes and 14 points in the final eight minutes. He finished with his fourth 20-point performance of the season. "We played better in the second half," Penn State coach Bruce Parkhill said. "Obviously, John (Amaechi) is a key guy for us, but we hung pretty tough under the circumstances." Carlton's teammate, senior Steve Wydman, added a career-high 17 points in the game, but the Wolver- ines held off the surge to claim vic- tory. Besides emerging with a win, how- ever, Michigan also showcased its seniors. Fisher inserted Moore into the game with 2:13 to go amidst chants of "We want Moore!" Despite numer- ous passes from his teammates and shots, Moore failed to score. With the pre-game senior good- bye ceremonies still fresh in his mind,' Bossard checked in early and ener- gized the team. His second trey gave Michigan a nine-point lead with 11:45 to go in the first half. "He had two three-pointers and eight points at halftime, when we needed them and when it was signifi- cant," Fisher said. Howard and Rose added 13 and 12, respectively, in the first half to See PENN STATE, Page 9 PENN STATE (72) MIN Williams, P. 33 Bartram 15 Joseph 16 Wydman 30 Earl 27 Baudio 25 Carlton 25 Jennings 16 Williams, D. 7 McKenna 6 FG M-A 1-3 2-4 2-5 5-12 2-3 2-4 8-12 1-7 0-3 0.0 FT M-A 0-0 0-0 2-2 5-6 0-2 9-10 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 REB O-T 0.2 0-1 1-2 2.3 0-2 2-4 1-7 2-4 0-0 0-1 A 2 2 2 3 4 1 2 1 1 0 F PTS 2 2 S26 53 2-30- - 41 5 2-4 -10 4 13 13 8-12 0-0 7 24 20 1-7 01 2- 1 03 Totals 200 23-53 16-22 9-30 1719 72 FG%: .434. FT%: .727. Three-point goals: 10- 19, .526 (Carlton 4-4, Bartram 2-3, Wydman 2-8, Earl 1-1, Jennings 1-3). Blocks: 4 (Bartram 2, Joseph, Wydman). Turnovers: 20 (Earl 7, Baudio 3, Carlton 2, Williams, D. 2, Wydman 2, Bartram, Joseph, McKenna, Williams, P.). Steals: 6 (Baudio 3, Bartram, Williams, D., Williams, P.). Technical Fouls: none. MICHIGAN (81) Jackson King Howard Fife Rose Saint-Jean Bossard Derricks Ndaiye Crawford MIN 21 23 28 27 27 11 15 16 18 12 N 8 8 FO Ff W-A M-A 3-7 0-0 3-5 1-3 -18 5-7 0-1 0-1 -13 2-3 2-3 0-0 5-7 0-0 2-2 0-0 1-4 2-2 0-0 0-0 REB O-T 1-3 3-3 2-9 1-1 1-5 2-5 1-2 2-5 1-3 0-1 A 5 3 2 3 2 0 0 F PTS 36 1 8 2 21 1 0 4 20 3 4 0 14 3 4 3 4 1 0 Moore 2 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 32-65 10-18 16-41 2121 81 FG%: .492. FT%: .556. Three-point goals: 7-16, .438 (Bossard 4-6, Rose 2-4, King 1-1, Crawford 0-1, File 0-1, Howard 0-1,Ndaiye 0-1, Saint-Jean 0-1). Blocks: 2 (Derricks, Howard). Turnovers; 15 (Howard 3, Derricks 2, Jackson 2, King 2.Ndaiye 2. Saint-Jean 2, Crawford, Fife). Steals: 9 (Crawford 2, Fife 2, Howard 2, Derricks, Jackson, King). Technical Fouls: none. Penn State. 27 45 = 72 Michigan......44 37 81 At: Crisler Arena; A: 13,231 ANASTASIA BANICKI/Daily Jalen Rose battles Penn State's Phil Williams for a rebound in last night's 81-72 victory. Rose's 20 points helped Michigan move into a first-place tie with Purdue in the Big Ten. w U I 'M' gets. BY BOB ABRAMSON DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER It's pretty obvious what the mindset of the Michigan women's basketball team (3-22 overall, 0-16 *Big Ten) is as it heads into its final two Big Ten games of this losing- infested season. Play intense for the entire 40 min- utes. Stay out of foul trouble. Limit its number of turnovers. Just win one, baby. If the Wolverines can finally gel all of these things together, either *tonight at home against Indiana (18- 7, 9-7) or Saturday against Purdue (23-4, 14-2), there is a slight possibil- ity that Michigan might pull out its first Big Ten victory of the season. "It's our last chance and we are going to give it all we've got," sophomore Jennifer Brezeznski said. "These two games are very important because we really want a Big Ten win before the end of the season. We don't want to end up as last chances for Big Ten win Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM the first Big Ten team to go winless in the conference." The Wolverines might as well toss out the video tape of its last meeting with Indiana Jan. 7. The Hoosiers, currently fourth in the Big Ten, shel- lacked the Wolverines,101-58, roar- ing out to an insurmontable 38-6 first- half lead. Indiana had six players in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Shirley Bryant, and shot 9 of 20 from three-point land. "It was terrible because we really expected to do well," Brezeznski said. "We were really surprised that they came out and totally dominated in the first half. They just got a few quick baskets and it was all chaos after that." Indiana's full-court pressure caused that chaos by forcing Michi- gan into an array of turnovers, result- ing in easy transition baskets for the Hoosiers. By game's end, the Wolverines had committed 22 turnovers, nine of which came at the hands of point guard Jennifer Kiefer. "We are a much better ballclub now than we were when we played them," Michigan coach Trish Rob- erts said. "It was our second Big Ten game, our kids were nervous, and Kiefer had not faced that kind ofpres- sure before. "It was the first time all year that we had seen full-court, man-to-man, run and jump pressure, and I think Kiefer is a little better at handling it now." It doesn't get any easier Saturday as freshman Leslie Johnson (22.0 ppg) and the 10th ranked Boilermakers roll into Ann Arbor. Johnson tore up the Wolverines in Michigan's Big Ten opener Jan. 5, scoring 25 points in 25 minutes en route to a 78-57 Purdue victory. "She's an animal inside," Roberts said. "Every team she has faced this year she has pretty much dominated." Purdue, which has won four in a row and nine out of its last 1 games, is vying for the Big Ten title. The Boilermakers are tied with Penn State for first place at 14-2 in the Big Ten. Both teams have two games remain- ing in their conference schedules. Purdue travels to Michigan State on Thursday before coming to Ann Arbor. The Boilermakers are first in the Big Ten in field goal percentage See WOMEN, Page 9 6ESECR EFURMATISE Largest Lbrary of Information in U.S. 19,278 TOPICS -ALL SUBJECTS Orde Catalog Today with Visa / MC or COD O r, 800-351-0222 O rush $2.00 to: Research Information 11322 Idaho Ave. #206-A, Los Angeles, CA 90025 RACQUETBALL TOURNAMENT (Singles & Doubles) Entry Deadline: Thursday 3/17 4:30 p.m. IMSB Main Office Tourney Dates: Sat & sun 3/19 & 20 For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 CHINESE CUISINE