The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - December 8. 1997 Y ictory over Rebels brings out best in Blue By Mark Snyder l)aily Sports Writer .-On Saturday, there was a certain symmetry to Michigan's victory over UNLV. The game began and ended in similar fashion *h the Michigan basketball players standing in front of their seats, cheering on their teammates, enjoying the game. -:ln their traditional show ofunity, the Michigan reserves opened the game upright on the bench, tajnding until one of their teammates tallied the first Michigan points. "The big difference- between the beginning and lwe end? It was the hbgn reserves who coasted up down the court as the trting five assumed the=- irle of cheerleaders._ So while the beginningf ind the end painted simi- lar scenes, it was the inter- vening chaos that served as a reminder of impres- sive potential and remarkable ability. Entering the game, many indications pointed to a UNLV blowout. The Runnin' Rebels stormed sler Arena with a 3-1 record and victories over Eastern Michigan and Southern Cal. All-America candidate Tyrone Nesby led the UNLV charge, entering the game averaging 18 points per game and remained the focus of Michigan's front line. But that was before Saturday. UNLV was the outstanding team entering this game, but after the first 20 minutes, the roles reversed. Michigan turned an 11-10 deficit into a 25-10 lead midway through the first half, and UNLV couldn't recov- for the rest of the game.. _ heir frustration was evident. Upon receiving a technical foul in the first half for leaving the coaching box, UNLV coach Bill Bayno placed a chair to prevent further trangressions. The silent protest symbolized UNLV's troubles. Michigan's impressive effort was a direct result of an increased performance from nearly every Wolverine. After weeks of forced passes and poor ball- handling, Robbie Reid began to show the skills that piqued Steve Fisher's interest early last sum- mer. The point guard's awkward shooting style - he launches the ball with his left hand from the shoulder area - produced substantial numbers for the first time this season. Reid nailed five of nine 3-pointers, many of them sparking Michigan runs. Extending the lead to double digits during the 15-0 run boosted Reid's confidence to the point at which he was no longer afraid to shoot. That willingness to shoot has been missing from Reid's game. In fact, he capped a late rally in the final minute of the first half with another trey. His first half-performance - a team-high 12 points - and fiery attitude sparked not only the points but the attitude. Crisler Arena, often referred to as "the Lounge" for its library-like demeanor, erupted and the Michigan bench danced in celebration. "The emotion factor is something you can't gauge," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "If you could get that emotion every game, that's something that could be very valuable to us. Despite the talent Michigan puts on the floor every night, multiple contributions are needed for a comfortable victory - as Ellerbe now knows. Each of the starters scored in double figures, enabling Michigan to use an assortment of weapons. For the first time all season, two Wolverines - Reid and Louis Bullock - had a long-range touch, enabling Michigan to spread the floor and stretch the athletic Rebel defense. (Pardon the Star Wars reference.) Freshmen Josh Asselin and Brandon Smith continued to make the departed Fisher look like a recruiting genius. What was supposed to be a SARA STILLMAN/DaSy Robert Traylor shoots over UN.V forward Kaspers Kambala. Traylor's 17-point effort helped spark the Wolverines to an impressive 24 point victory. subpar recruiting class has blossomed into the core of the Michigan team. Asselin continued his solid play, scoring eight points and taking the ball to the basket aggres- sively and Smith contributed two blocks. While Asselin has paid for that effort with hard fouls, each one is earning him more respect -and minutes - from Ellerbe. The unity that the Wolverines displayed can be directly related to the captains, Traylor and Travis Conlan. Little things, like Traylor's exu- berance following Reid's first-half3-pointer, and both captains' rush to help up Asselin following a crushing blow, are not basketball plays. but vital to team cohesion. If the coming week - with games against Bradley, Eastern Michigan and No. I Duke_ results in similar performances, Michigan will begin to reclaim the respect of an NCAA tourna- ment team. "We're just starting to tap into our potential. Reid said. "If we put all of that together, there's not a team in the country we can't beat." C'an you see the (Blue} Devil in the distance? Quote of the Week "' I'iev say that wcheni vont have a bad game YOu shoauld fbret about it. Well, I cot -t remember anything before this game. Robbie Reid Player of the Week Robbie Reid The junior point guard had a coming-out party of sorts on Saturday, scoring 17 points on five 3-pointers to lead Michigan to an 83-59 victory over UNIX Kansas falls= to Terp WASHINi aN (A.\l) It was hardly a recipe for an upset. Maryland blew a 1I5-po it second- half lead, lost its two top players to fouls and didn't score a field goal in the last 4:10. Yet the No. 23 Terrapins made seven of eight free throws in the final two minutes to heat No. 2 Kansas 86-83 yesterday in the first round of the Franklin National Bank ('lassic. It is the first time in Roy Williams' 10 years at Kansas that the Jayhawks have failed to make the championship game of a holiday tournament. No. 6 Pt RtDI'I 87, Loa ist 1.r.1 69 Brad Miller scored 12 of his 27 points during a 27-5 run and No. 6 Purdue snapped a two-game losing streak with an 87-69 victory over I ouisville on Saturday night. Gene Keadv became Purdue's winningest coach, passing Ward Lambert's 371 victories. In his 2th season, Keady's record is 3721b 12. Purdue (6-2), got off to a sluggish start. turning the ball over nine times and missing 10 of its first 12 shots in falling behind I 3-4 eight minutes into the game. No. 5 Sot tii Caim.IN:a 67, CIIATrrANooGA 55 Ryan Stack had 16 points and BJ McKie added 15 and No. 5 South Carolina held Chattanooga to 28 percent shooting for a 67-55 victory Saturday night. Chattanooga (4-3) was unable to overcome its first-half woes, miss- ing 22 of 30 field goal attempts. Chattanooga wound up missing 46 of 64 shots. No. 9 Xw i .ti 93, W. K.N (tkv 6Q .J. Johnson and Darnell Williams scored six points each during a 23-0 run that broke the game open early as No. 9 Xavier beat Western Kentucky 93-60 Saturday night. Lenny Brown led Xavier (5-0) with 22 points and five assists, Gary Lumpkin and James Posey had 16 points apiece. Wolverines, Traylor dance to day of firsts against UNLV Jim Rose Laily Sports Editor Saturday's 83-59 victory over UNLV was a game of firsts for the Michigan men's basketball team. For the first time this season, the Wolverines had more assists than turnovers (20 assists, 15 turnovers) - but never mind that part. Forget that all five starters scored in double figures for e first time. Even ignore, momentarily, at for the first time Robbie Reid looked like a terrific point guard. For the first time this season - per- haps the first time in school history - Michigan's best player and his grand- mother were dancing, simultaneously. Not with each other, exactly, but defi- nitely at the same time. While the game was going on. After a soaring alley-oop dunk by randon Smith brought the Crisler rena crowd to its feet (no small task in itself), Michigan came up with a defen- sive stop and Reid hit his fourth 3-point- er of the half to put the Wolverines ahead, 41-25, with 38 seconds remaining before the intermission. With Traylor bouncing and spinning downcourt, raising the roof and gesturing wildly to the crowd, ' ° 9his grandmother, sit- j' ting behind Michigan's bench, got to her feet and, well, I E4e4o cut a rug. Her enthusiasm was mirrored by the somewhat small, but loyal, student section at midcourt, which has had relatively few opportunities to stand up and cheer thus far in the season. .And Saturday seemed an opportune time for the Wolverines -and their fans - to start getting into high gear, with tough games in the next week against Eastern Michigan (Wednesday) and Duke (Saturday). "I thought we played with an awful lot of emotion," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said afterward. "If you can get that emotion every game, you're going to win on most nights." While Traylor best exemplified the emotion to which Ellerbe referred, it was the play of Michigan's guards that tem- pered that emotion and allowed the Wolverines to turn a blowout into an even bigger blowout. Reid tied Traylor for the scoring lead with 17 points, hitting five treys in 31 minutes. Guards Louis Bullock and Travis Conlan each had five assists and no turnovers running the offense. The strong game was especially sweet for Reid, who has struggled in the early part of the season. "They say that when you play bad you should forget about it," Reid said. "I couldn't remember any games to this point. "I've been disappointed in myself, because I knew the type of player I was coming in here. I felt like it was a matter of time, to be honest. I'm happy, it feels good to play well." Another first took place in Saturday's win: Bullock missed his first free throw of the season, after making 20 straight since the beginning of the year. Too MUCH MAKE1 P: Also related to the "firsts" department: Ellerbe got his first technical foul of the season -- apparently for not doing much of any- thing, to hear him tell it. "It must have been the (arm-waving) gesture," Ellerbe said. "Because I didn't say anything." Ellerbe pleaded with the officials, but to no avail. After much discussion and the resultant free throws, play resumed. But not for long. It took exactly five seconds for the next technical to be handed out, this time to UNLV coach Bill Bayno -- who was all the way down at the opposite end of the floor, and apparently stepped out of the coaches' box briefly. Bayn4 couldn't believe the call, but the Michigan coaches looked on with smiles on their faces. And the fans were satisfied with the prompt make-up call. "I think (the referee) knew it was prob- ably not the right call:' Lllerbe said of his technical, which started the mess. "Then he goes and gives Billy one right away." NEw mAN mIAV?2: ? nheralded fresh- man beanpole Josh Asselin (6-foot-1l, 215 pounds) played 20 gritty minutes and scored eight points against the Rebels, in the process endearing himself to the f risler crowd. On one play, Asselin absorbed a hard foul while going up for a dunk. When the ball was knocked away and he lost his balance. he landed extremely hard on his back, with a resounding "thud:' Ellerbe jumped off the bench out of' concern, and Assein's teammates gath- ered around, but the freshman needed only a minute to collect his breath on the floor. Hle bounced back up and strode to the free-throw line, ready to shoot -- much to the delight of the crowd. He had to come out of the game, how- ever, because of the brief injury stop- page. Bullock shot the free throws, but Asselin checked back into the game a just few seconds later. Newcomers' emergence erases concerns about lack of depth Louis Bullock dri- Ves to the hoop on his way to two of his 16 points. The junior point guard added five assists in a solid ~erformance. SARA siTI LMAN/Ddily RtEBELS Continued from Page 1A Reid was a large factor in the blowout. The junior transfer from Brigham Young, along with Robert Traylor, each con- tributed 17 points to lead the starters, all of scored in double- digits. Louis Bullock contributed with 16 points, seven abounds and five assists. Jerod Ward added 13 points and seven boards, and Maceo Baston had 10 points. Michigan held UNLV (3-2) to 31.5 percent shooting and three-of-22 from beyond the arc. And for the first time this season, the Wolverines had more assists (20) than turnovers (15). Center Kaspars Kambala and guard Donovan Stewart each scored 15 points for UNLV while forward Tyrone Nesby had 14 points. Kambala also had 12 rebounds. By Dai Stiliman Daily Sports Wrnter Before the season, there were several knocks on the Michigan men's basket- ball team - they're underachievers, they don't play with enough intensity, they can't play defense, they play down to their opponents. But the one knock that was supposed to bring the door down and doom the Wolverines' season was the team's depth, or lack thereof. Coming into the season, the Wolverines were supposedly paper thin after starters Robert Traylor. Maceo Baston,'Travis Conlan, Louis Bullock and Jerod Ward.. All of the sudden, thanks to two freshmen and a transfer from Brigham Young, it looks like the Wolverines' bench is no longer a major liability. The transfer, Robbie Reid, has given the Wolverines much needed help on the perimeter. It's not so much that Reid is a guard - Michigan already had Travis Conlan and Louis Bullock. Rather, it's that Reid, who has in effect replaced departed guard Brandun Hughes, can also serve as a backup floor leader to Conlan - a role not played by Bullock. Reid's presence was needed sooner than anyone expected when Conlan went down with an injury in the first exhibition game. And despite getting off to a slow start - a two-year stint away from the game while on a Mormon mis- sion is partly to blame - Reid has shown slow but steady improvement Starters: Pos. Player G Louis Bullock C Robert Traytor G Robbie Reid F Maceo Baston F Jerod Ward Reserves: Pos. Player G Travis Conlan* F Brandon Smith F/C Josh Asselin C Peter Vignier G Ron Oliver Min./game 34 33 33 29 24 Min./game 22 16 10 7 2 Depth chart free throws by Ward, and the lead was 14 at the eight-minute mark -a lead that had the Wolverines pumping fists and resulted in the loudest reception from the crowd this season. "Our basketball team came out with a lot of emotion,' Ellerbe said. "Our defensive intensity was very, very good." The Runnin' Rebels, who defeated Eastern Michigan, 84- 66, on Nov. 19, were obviously affected by the zone. For a team that thrives on the fast-paced, running game, UN LV was out of whack. The Rebels only connected on two field-goals in the last 13 minutes of the half. "It seemed the harder we tried to get something done, the worse things happened," UNLV coach Ben Banyo said. "It just seemed to snowball. We were flat, emotionally." The Wolverines quickly increased their 41-25 halftime lead to 20 points, Freshman Josh Asselin came off the bench to score eight in the half and seemed to have a hand on every -J . ,.,a A - 1n1r.. L L.. -~.