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COLLEGE PRO
BASKETBALL BASKETBALL
BRADLEY 63, MIAI 15.
Michigan 58 New Jersey 97
(3} KANSAS 89, 0RL'AN^ E 5
Pennsylvania 71 P aoeo a -
(4}Arizona 83, u _. .
BAYLOR 68 "'o<l
(22} MARYLAND 70 P -AND 105,
George Wash. 66 LA lwa'ers 99

WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL
No. 17 VIRGINIA 63
Sant Mary's 37
K'en'tucky 66,
No. 15 WEST. KY 64
No.19 W!SCCNSIN 89
Notre Dame 77

HOCKEY
NY RANGERS 3,
Phoenix 1
TORONTO 3,
Dallas 0
ST. LO U S 5.
Vancouver 1
MONT REAL 4,

Tuesday
December 9, 1997

9


Same old story,
Wins and _. .

now

in Peoria
Back to normal?
Wolvennes lose in
letdown, 63-58

losses close
or Blue
y Dan Stilman
Daily Sports Writer
PEORIA, Ill. - Remember the bril-
liant performance put on by the
Wolverines in their 83-59 thrashing of
UNLV on Saturday at Crisler Arena?
Well, forget it - at least for now. So
all indications are that Saturday's
lawout was an exception to how
Michigan's games will play out this sea-
son, especially after last night's five-
poinrt loss to Bradley. Besides an 18-
point thrashing of Cleveland State on
Nov. 19, Michigan's ...
victories and losses
have been hotly con-
tested, especially on
the oad.
'The Wolverines 1Z 4
* now 2-1 on the
road, with their two
victories coming by
one point and three
points. Even in an ]1-point victory at
home over Florida International last
'Wednesday, the Wolverines trailed at the
hialf by one.
' Of course, nothing's to say that the
Wolverines won't regain the form with
kwhich they played against UNLV in the
*ar'futre. But it could be a while until
the Wolverines can put together 40-
minute' performances the likes of
Safurday's, night in and night out. Part of
the problem may be circumstantial, espe-
cially-away from home.
Being Michigan, opponents and their
fans often key in on the Wolverines more
thah' any other opponents.
"We know that we're the biggest
games on a lot of team's schedules,"
nior co-captain Travis Conlan said.
at was especially true with Bradley.
The Wolverines were only the second
Big Ten school to visit Carver Arena in
the' 15 seasons the Braves have played
there. The first was Northwestern in
1985, it too lost to the Braves. Since
then, Bradley had ost six straight against
Big Ten teants until yesterday. So when
theBraves led by six with less than three
miiutes remaining, they could smell vic-
'"We had to make too many great plays
to met ourselves back in the game;'
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said.
The-Wolverines had trouble swinging
the'momentum their way. With every big
pla°y Bradley came a deafening roar
froi the sellout crowd.
The Wolverines ran into a similar situ-
aticn during their visit to Towson on Nov.
24.:Michigan was without a doubt the
* See HOOPS, Page 10
m ri volleyba
iBy . Berk
:Daiy Sports Writer
The Michigan fight song, "The
:Vicors" has been an accurate descrip-
:tion of the quality of many of the
Wolverines' sports programs. From
ose Bowls to Final Fours to winning
countless conference and national
championships in different sports, "The
'Victors" has been a fitting title.
Not'all sports have reaped the suc-
cess tha Michigan athletics breeds,
;however. Ever since the volleyball team

By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Writer
PEORIA, III. - Just two days after
Michigan routed UNLV behind a
screaming home crowd at Crisler Arena,
the Wolverines experienced a role rever-
sal.
After playing with fire in close victo-
ries over Towson and Detroit, Michigan
got burned, losing a tight game to
Bradley (4-3), 63-58, last night at Carver
Arena.
in a last-minute frenzy, which the
Wolverines (5-2) have become so used to
Bradley 63
r Michigan 58
this season, Louis Bullock tried to play.
hero and squeak out a Michigan victory
in front of a sellout crowd of 10,741, but
came up short.
Bullock nailed two free throws with 53
seconds left to bring Michigan within
three points, then came back on the
defensive end to force a turnover. But his
efforts were for naught, as the Braves ran
out the clock, nailing two free throws
with four seconds left to clinch the victo-
ry.
"It's a huge win for us,' Bradley coach
Jim Molinari said. "It's something that
will be remembered throughout the sea-
son."
Despite Bradley's victory, the
Wolverines did keep the game close in
the final minutes.
With 1:44 to play, Maceo Baston's shot
was blocked and he recovered, calling a
timeout as he fell out of bounds.
Immediately following the timeout, he
gained retribution, converting a three-
point play to bring Michigan within three
points, 59-56.
The Wolverines played much of the
stretch run without Baston, who sat on
the bench in foul trouble after picking up
his fourth near the 10-minute mark of the
second half. He only returned after his
fronteourt mate, Robert Traylor, picked
up his fourth foul - and then later only
to spell Josh Asselin.
Molinari did not hesitate to reveal his
game plan after the game. After stressing
Michigan's frontcourt and its importance
to the Wolverines' game plan, his
thoughts turned to his team's response.
"We tried to run," he said. "We tried to
get up and down the floor" to wear out

Michigan's big bodies.
Facing its largest deficit at 48-41 with
10 minutes left in the game, Michigan
came back at Bradley behind back-ta-
back 3-pointers from Travis Conlan and
Jerod Ward.
Robbie Reid continued his clutch
shooting with game-tying 3-pointers
twice in the second half, but each time,
Bradley responded with a conversion of
its own, rarely allowing Michigan to get
close.
When Jerod Ward's shot was blocked
with 3:29 left but goaltending was not
called, he complained - but not like his
coach complained. Michigan coach
Brian Ellerbe shed his coat in disgust,
and received a technical foul for the sec-
ond game in a row. While the complaint
in the previous game was hardly notable,
this time the coach had to be restrained
by Michigan athletic trainer Steve
Stricker. .I
The bench technical gave Bradley two
free throws and the ball. On the ensuing
possession, Michigan was called for
goaltending and the Bradley lead peaked
at eight.
"We ran into an excited Bradley bas-
ketball team;' Ellerbe said. "They playel
with emotion."
The first half was no better. for
Michigan, as a common problem .rer
emerged.
While the Wolverines kept their
turnovers to a minimum against UNLV
- it was the first game in which they
recorded more assists than giveaways -
yesterday was a return to the previous rut.
Michigan once again dominated the
turnover category in the half, totaling:14
to Bradley's six.
"If we reduced our turnovers, it would
have changed the first-half score a lot;'
Jerod Ward said.
Bullock's 3-pointer from the top of the
key opened the game on a positive note
for Michigan, and yet, that was one of the
few bright spots for the Wolverines.
After three minutes of trading baskets,
Bradley seized the lead with I 4:27.-to
play in the first half. From that point_for-
ward the Braves maintained the margi,,
keeping Michigan at bay with an array of
jump shots - all from inside the 3-point
arc.
Despite their lack of a long-range sht,
the Braves were effective on the inside j
the first 20 minutes, extending their Lead
to six at one point.
Michigan's poor production fromnthe
field was exemplified in their 34-peie t
See BRAVES, Page lb

Maceo Baston scored Just six points in Michigan's 63-58I
Bradley's 10 and 13 assists to the Braves' 15 last night.

SARA STILLMAN/DaiIy
loss to Bradley last night. The Wolverines had 19 turnovers versus

all breaks barriers in magical season

,_
....

became a member of the NCAA in
1982, success has been in short supply.

Slvya

The Wolverines
had never made
the NCAA tour-
nament and were a
consistent resident
in the lower eche-
lon of the Big Ten.
The key word in
the last sentence is
were, as the 1997
volleyball season

saw a role reversal of past seasons. The
Wolverines finished tied for third place
in the conference and went to the
NCAA tournament for the first time.
Michigan also won a record 21
games, one of which was a first-round
victory over Temple in the NCAAs.
While the Wolverines were smacked
around by Texas A&M in the second
round, their season was one of triumph
and achievement.
In August, some could have made
pretty good money if they wagered on

the Wolverines improving. Picked sev-
enth in the Big Ten in the preseason,
Michigan dropped three of its first four
games.
After finishing second in' the All-
Sport Challenge with victories over
Eastern Michigan and Montana, the
Wolverines took a major blow as pow-
erful outside hitter Karen Chase had to
sit out for a month due to a bulging disk
in her back.
At this point, the Wolverines couldn't
See VOLLEYBALL, Page 11

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