Michigan bursts past Illini in second half
By Barry Sollenberger
Daily Sports Editor
If you're the visitor, it's not easy to
win in Crisler Arena as it is.
But without your best player?
Indeed there are easier tasks in this
world. Illinois learned that first-hand
ast night when it lost to Michigan, 83-
60n front of 13,562. The Illini played
without their head honcho, point guard
Kiwane Garris, who missed the game
>ecause of a shoulder injury.
"Garris is the leader of that team,"
Wolverine coach Steve Fisher said. "We
all know that. Obviously, they are not
as good without him."
Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 12-4 overall)
has now won nine in a row over the No.
21 Illini (0-3, 11-4) and 12 of 14 in the
Traylor s 18 points and 11 boards
lead Wolverines
Garris certainly would have helped
coach Lou Henson's squad last night,
but it's a stretch to say that his absence
was the difference in the game.
The No. 23 Wolverines won this one
by pounding Illinois on the boards, 45-
33, and shooting .581 (18 for 31) from
the field in the second half.
"I've said all along that (Michigan) is
a tremendous team," Henson said.
"Anybody in the nation who thinks
they won't have trouble against those
three big guys doesn't know basket-
ball."
Those three "big guys" - Maurice
in 83-68 victory
Taylor, Maceo Baston and Robert
Traylor - dominated the Illini down
low for a combined 48 points and 25
rebounds.
The Illini led at the half, 40-39, but
the Wolverines quickly wiped that out
with a 13-4 run to begin the final 20
minutes. Albert White's 3-pointer
forced Illinois coach Lou Henson to
call time with 14:59 left in the game and
Michigan up, 52-44.
A couple of minutes later, Henson
had to call time again.
A Maurice Taylor jumper gave the
Wolverines a 56-46 advantage with
12:34 left and Crisler was rocking for
the first time all night.
The Illini were able to stay within 10
until Bullock nailed a three from the top
of the key and Michigan's advantage
was 67-54 with 7:45 left.
That was the ball game.
From there, Michigan's lead grew to
as many as 19 before the final gun.
"The way (the Wolverines) played in
the second half, I don't know if there is
a team in the nation that can beat (them),"
Henson said.
Illinois' one-point lead at the half
could have been more.
Fisher was forced to play the final
5:39 of the opening halfwithout Baston
and Taylor, Michigan's starting
frontcourt.
See ILLINOIS, Page 3B
An Illinois hand in
his face doesn't
deter Michigan
freshman center
Robert Traylor
from slamming
home two of his
18 points last
night. The
Wolverines ran
their Big Ten
record to 2-1
with an 83-68
triumph, to which
Traylor
contributed 18
points despite
playing much of
the game in foul
trouble.
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
tt- r
'?JffI1GA
; A
SJe irttbign
ICT
'N.
aui g
t'
Texas A&MA
boots Blue
live field oals propel Aggies
to 22-20 aamo Bowl win
By Ryan White
Daily Sports Editor
SAN ANTONIO - It's too bad the Texas A&M
defense wasn't around to defend the Alamo in 1836. If the
Aggies' "Wrecking Crew" had been there, Santa Anna
probably would have been stopped behind the Mexican
border.
Instead, No. 19 Texas A&M (9-3) had to settle for stuffing
T~manga Biakabutuka and the Michigan offense en route
to a 22-20 win over the No. 14 Wolverines in the Builders
Square Alamo Bowl Dec. 28. The game was played in front
of an Alamo Bowl and Alamodome record crowd of 64,597,
predominantly Aggie fans.
Biakabutuka set an Alamo Bowl record with 94 yards
rushing, but was kept in eheck throughout most of the game.
"They had a nine-man front the whole game," Biakabutuka
said. "I think their goal was to stop the run. They had a great
game plan. It's kind of hard to block nine players when
y 've only got seven linemen."
Wiakabutuka wasn't the only Wolverine to have problems
with the Texas A&M defense, though. Griese was consis-
tently hurried and hit on his way to a 9-for-23, 182-yard
performance. He did throw two touchdown passes, but was
picked off by the Aggies' Andre Williams late in the game
while Michigan was down only six, 19-13.
Williams returned the ball to the Michigan four, but an
excessive celebration penalty moved the ball back to the 19.
The interception set up Texas A&M kicker Kyle Bryant's
Alamo Bowl record fifth field goal of the game. The 37-
yarder made the score 22-13 and put the contest out of reach
* he Wolverines.
e just didn't win the game," Griese said. "That's partly
due to not picking up blitzes and not getting the ball to
receivers, because they were beating defenders."
The Aggies took the lead with 6:35 remaining in the first
quarter on a nine-yard touchdown run by freshman running
back Eric Bernard. The score came after Texas A&M recov-
ered a Biakabutuka fumble on the Michigan five.
Bernard, along with fellow freshmen backs Sirr Parker and
D'Andre Hardeman, was forced into action by the absence of
Texas A&M star back Leeland McElroy, who was out with
adly sprained ankle.
Bi aabutuka
- ~ ~1
witumpro
Runyan also NFL-bound
By Ryan White
Daily Sports Editor
3' 1
*A
' 1$
k,. ,
I:
In the end, Tshimanga Biakabutuka couldn't wait another
year to reunite his family.
With his mother, Misenga, away for the holidays in
Biakabutuka's home country ofZaire, helping the two sisters he
hasn't seen in 15 years, Biakabutuka decided to do the one thing
he could to help his family: enter the NFL Draft.
"I wish I had the opportunity to help my family a long time
ago," Biakabutuka said at a press conference yesterday. "Now
I have that opportunity, and I'm going to do it."
Biakabutuka plans on bringing his sisters over from Zaire, as
well as taking care of his family in Longueil, Quebec. He has
three siblings in Canada, and his father currently works nine
hours from Longueil.
H is biggest concern, however, is his sisters and their situation
in Africa.
"It's tough to the point where you don't know ifyou're going
to have food the next day," Biakabutuka said of the conditions
in Zaire. "I have the chance to bring my family together an i give
them a fresh start."
Biakabutuka is coming offa season in which he set Michigan
season records in yards rushing (1,818), rushing attempts (303),
rushing-receiving yards (1,868),rushing-receiving plays (308),
and he tied the record for all-purpose plays with 309.
Biakabutuka was also a finalist for the Doak Walker National
Running Back Award and a UPI honorable mention All-Ameri-
can, and was given the Wolverines' Bo Schembechler Most
Valuable Player Award.
H is career-high 313 yards rushing against Ohio State Nov.25
helped the Wolverines to a 31-23 win over the then-No. 2 and
undefeated Buckeyes.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had tried to talk Biakabutuka into
staying.
"He was a little disappointed," Biakabutuka said."Hewanted
me to come back for my own good."
If Biakabutuka had returned, he would have been a preseason
favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Instead, he enters a somewhat
uncertain draft future.
Biakabutuka hasn't talked to anyone at the NFL, but he did
send a letter of inquiry, about where he may go, that hasn't been
answered.
See NFL, Page 4B
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Michigan quarterback Brian Griese finds the Aggies to be inhospitable hosts during Texas A&M's 22-20 Alamo Bowl win.
The three combined for 147 yards rushing and the one
touchdown.
Michigan (9-4) responded to the Aggies' score with a two-
play, 77-yard drive that was aided by four Texas A&M
penalties, including a personal foul and two pass interference
penalties, both against Aggie cornerback Ray Mickens.
The second interference call didn't matter much as Michi-
gan receiver Amani Toomer hauled in the 41-yard pass from
Griese anyway.
Texas A&M's secondary was physical throughout the
game, but it wasn't interference according to Mickens.
"They were being rough and physical with us," the senior
said. "We were not going to back down if they were going to
be physical with us."
Toomer's touchdown was the last the game would see for
a while.
Bryant hit a 27-yarder later in the first. Michigan's Remy
Hamilton tied the game with a 28-yard boot early in the
second. Bryant answered as the half ended with a 49-yard
See A&M, Page 5B
Icers thrash Ferris, Miami
Morrison explodes with 11 points on weekend
Statewide, Michigan is a
haven for college hockey
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
Daily Sports Writer
e Michigan hockey team had two dangerous
w pons at its disposal last weekend - Brendan
Morrison and the referee's whistle.
In the third-ranked Wolverines' 10-3 win over
Ferris State Friday and their 13-0 mauling of Miami
(Ohio) Saturday at Yost Ice Arena, Morrison racked
up Il points and Michigan's special teams units
were responsible for 12 goals.
The wins moved the Wolverines (11-3-0 CCHA,
164-0) up to third in the CCHA standings. Michigan
is six points behindNo. 8 Michi-
EState and five behind No. 6t
Western Michigan but has three *
games in hand on both teams.
It did not matter who was in
the penalty box, the Wolver-
ines dominated whenever the
teams were notateven strength.
John Madden led the shorthanded attack for the
Wolverines, as he has all season, notching his fifth
shorthanded goal of the year against Ferris State and
his sixth against Miami. He also scored a power play
goal against the Redskins.
Madden has garnered a reputation as a dangerous
penalty killer, due in part to his league lead in
shorthanded goals. But there is no luck involved with
Madden's success, Berenson said.
"It's amazing how lucky you get when you work
hard," Berenson said. "Madden's very aggressive.
He puts a lot of pressure on people. He is definitely
one of the better penalty killers in terms of generating
offense, and it's all due to his work ethic."
Morrison, coming off of an MVP performance in
the Great Lakes Invitational, started the Wolverines
off against Ferris State. He scored the first two
goals of a five-goal first period for Michigan.
Despite a two-goal spurt by the Bulldogs, the
game belonged to the Wolverines. Morrson grabbed
By John Lroi
Baily Sports Writer .
ill Beagan sits alone in his
office on State Street. The
CCHA commissioner's office
is in Ann Arbor for a reason - it's
the center of the college hockey
world and Beagan knows it.
Since Beagan stepped into the
commissioner's office in 1985,
he's seen more great college
hockey games than anyone in the
country. A full decade after
Beagan took office, the CCHA is
flourishing - especially its four
teams from Michigan.
Michigan State, Western Michigan,
Lake Superior State and Michigan
are clumped at the summit of the
league standings. Those same four
k teams find themselves ranked in
doing very well," Beagan said. "It's
great to see four CCHA teams from
Michigan in the top 10. But it doesn't
surprise me."
And it probably shouldn't. The
state of Michigan has one of the
proudest and richest hockey traditions
in the nation. Michigan sports seven
NCAA Division I hockey programs:
the four CCHA powers, Ferris State
and WCHA members Northern
Michigan and Michigan Tech.
With just 43 Division I teams
competing in college hockey this year,
Michigan has cornered the market on
marquee teams, with only the state of
Massachusetts close behind.
While so many younger players jump
to the junior level without playing a
minute of college hockey, it is a
testament to the Great Lakes State that
AI W A MI m-
I