6B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - November 17, 1997 Same old Crisler, same old team By Mark Snyder Daily Sports Writer Saturday night, Crisler Arena felt the same as it always has. .,Brian Dutcher sat on the Michigan bench as an assistant coach, screaming instructions at the players on the floor, as he has for the past 10 sea- sons. The stands in the House That Cazzie Built remained half-full - on par with the level of sup- po-t normally seen at Crisler. And, as if to maintain _ cdosistency, Michigan blew a significant lead late irf the game, losing to an inferior team. Michigan, which held an IlI-point lead with 1:28 to play, collapsed down the stretch, suc- cUhbing to Western Michigan, 68-63.. But does anyone care? Robert Traylor, despite an intense effort that ntted 22 points, entered the interview room downtrodden, but hardly dismayed. "They stepped up their game a notch or two," Tfhylor said in reference to the final 10-minute stretch, when the Broncos surged to the victory. That's right, they didn't just surge into the lead, -but into the win, responding to the Il-point 'deficit with a 13-2 run. Traylor's statement, while entirely accurate, is only half of what should be expected from Michigan. Why didn't the Wolverines step their game up a notch or two? Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe was hardly any more help in trying to determine the cause of the collapse. "We didn't play well," he said while calmly answering questions. "You expect them to be scrappy, and they had two guys who played very well." If that extra effort on Western's part was expected, then why wasn't Michigan prepared? For that matter, where was the Wolverines' extra effort? Their pressure defense sat in a blue sport jack- et on the Michigan bench - in the person of Travis Conlan. But the problem was not Conlan's absence - he's out for a month with a broken wrist. That only magnified a larger issue - the lack of hus- tle. Maybe the Wolverines believed that this game was in the bag before it began. Michigan, ranked 20th in the coaches' poll before the loss, is a program of national promi- nence that draws recruits from the far reaches of the nation. Western Michigan isn't even a team that draws attention within the state, and has to fight for recruits with its Mid-American Conference brethren for the Wolverines' left- overs. But Saturday, that was all forgotten as Michigan left its own gym - in its first game no less - physically, if not mentally, defeated. "They went at all of our guys," Ellerbe said. "We didn't execute." Michigan possessed an advantage before step- ping on the court - at least in Western Michigan coach Bob Donewald's eyes. The Broncos' coach, whose previous Crisler experience was as a Bobby Knight assistant at Indiana, considered the Michigan mystique a fac- tor. Before the game, "I thought of all the great players who have played in this arena," Donewald said. But he hesitated to share his thoughts with his team - not that the Broncos would have cared. The intense focus Western displayed kept them in the game throughout the nip-and-tuck first half. While Michigan maintained a slight two- point lead at the break, the margin was inconse- quential -- for as in most college basketball games, the last 10 minutes were the pivotal stretch. So Michigan should not have been surprised when Saddi Washington led the Broncos back from the I11-point deficit. In a scene emblematic of the difference one player can make, Washington chipped away at Michigan's margin. Unlike the Wolverines, the 6- foot-3 guard knew when the game was on the line. "I looked up at the clock and we were down three,' he said. "When I looked up again, it was 55-55. "Zero-zero - time to play ball." But Washington's time had already come, as he scored 13 points to vault the Broncos into the lead. From then on, it was easy for Western. Washington forced a steal, hit a 3-pointer and left Michigan on the losing end in the opener. Washington's 33-point outing was the highest individual total against Michigan in nine years. And yet Washington emerged unfazed by the performance. "I don't feel the pressure;" he said. "I was con- fident in my shot and my teammates found me. It was feeling good every time." While Washington's stroke consistently found the bottom of the net, Louis Bullock's did not. Bullock, Michigan's leading returning scorer, managed just one field goal and no 3-pointers on I-of-9 shooting. One would expect Bullock to be concerned about his performance, right? Hardly. The junior sharpshooter said the misses didn't affect his decision to keep the ball flying from the perimeter. "Shooting has a lot to do with confidence;" he said. "I have a lot of confidence. That won't stop me from shooting." Which begs the question: Why was Bullock the one shooting? All indications would point to Traylor on the inside as the catalyst for the Wolverines in a tight game. And yet his only points in the last 14 min- utes came on two tip-ins and a couple of free throws. The only possible explanation - Traylor's seven turnovers - is quickly negated when his size advantage is considered. The Michigan center- one of the largest play- ers in the nation at 6-foot-9, 300 pounds -- is large enough to give the Western frontcourt a bear hug, let alone dunk over it repeatedly. The Broncos countered with three players, all of whom were 6-foot-7 and none of whom weighed in at more than 223. So where was the Tractor and why didn't he have the ball in crunch time? SARA STILLMAN/OAILY Louis Bullock shields the ball from a Western Michigan defender. Bullock had a poor day from the field, and the Broncos beat the Wolverines, 68-63. Ellerbe maintained the Wolverines "put the ball inside an awful lot" according to the bench statis- tics. Unfortunately for Michigan, the post touch- es didn't result in points, and the Wolverines went game to the Broncos. The first game left too m questions about play on the floor - especially ib- a game that Michigan should have dominated. And only one question was appropriate follow- ing the Wolverines' collapse: Where was the NIT banner? home with the loss. Too many mistakes (24 turnovers) handed the molikk The Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Community Research Clinic is seeking healthy males, ages 18-55, for participation in medication research studies. Length of study time is approximately two - four weeks. Research subjects will be paid approximately $500.00 - $1000.00 for participation. You must not take daily prescription medications or have any chronic illness. For more information, please call Geri or Ann at (313) 996-7861, Mon. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, Ml 48105. BAS KET BALL Continued from Page 18 ever going to score," Western coach Bob Donewald said. But in the remaining time, the Wolverines did practically everything they could to help the Broncos get back on track. Sixteen of the Wolverines' 24 turnovers came in the second half, and the majority of those occurred during a 13-2 Broncos run that tied the game at 55 with 3:34 to go. The game was tied again at 57 when Washington picked off a pass from Michigan freshman Brandon Smith, who caught up to foul Washington at the other end of the court. After Washington made both free throws, the Wolverines turned the ball over again on the ensuing possession, and Washington capitalized, nailing his final 3-pointer to extend the Broncos' lead to 62-57 with one minute left. A Traylor tip-in got the Wolverines back within 65-63 with 20 seconds to go, but that was as close as they would get. "We just kind of got outplayed down the stretch," said Traylor, who scored a team-high 22 points and played a game- high 39 minutes. "They made a lot of big plays. We turned the ball over and they capitalized on every mistake we made," The Wolverines' collapse was almost a mirror image of the one against Athletes in Action on Nov. 3. In that game, the first of Michigan's two exhibition contests, the Wolverines blew 13-point lead midway through the second half and ended up ing the game, 95-93. In both games, Michigan was without senior point guard Travis Conlan down the stretch. Conlan broke his wrist during the second half against AIA, ending a brilliant 19-point perfor- mance. He is expected to miss the first month of the season. "We're going to miss (Conlan)," Ellerbe said. "Buuwe're not going to use that as a crutch." Robbie Reid played 38 minutes and scored just two points, while Bullock was unusually quiet despite going 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Bullock shot just 1-of-9 from the field and missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc, ending* streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer at 44. Maceo Baston, who pulled down 11 rebounds in the game, extended the Wolverines' lead to 16-10, when he left his feet and slam dunked an offensive rebound before landing aain But Washington kept the Broncos close, scoring 14 first-half points. m 11 1997 IN CREATNG SPORTS1/2PAGE, NIKE MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO BE ACCURA'E WE REGRET ANY ERRORS. IF YOUR TEAM WASN'T COVERED, LET YOUR NIKE STUDENT REP KNOWt AND WE'LL TRY NEXT ISSUE. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _0_ _00 17 PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/I YOST ARENA WALLYBALL/I PLAYOFFs BEGIN, IMSB FLAG FoOTBALL/) P AYI- MITCHEL' FIELD 18 PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/l Yo ALStiA WALLYBALL/I P w'&s, fMSB FLAG FOOTBALL/I PLAYoFs MCKLL F I o WRESTLING/I C.usEEL 19 MEN'S BASKETBALL/V VS. CLEVELAND STAWE CR!S.ER ARENA, 7:30 PM PRE-SEASON BROOMBALLII Yost ARENA WALLYBALL/I PLAYOFfs, IMSB FLAG FOOTBALL/I PLAO4S, MITCHELL FIELO WRESTLING/I COILSa k 20 PRE-SEASON BROOMBALLA YOST ARENA WALLYBALL/I PLAYOFFS, IMSB FLAG FOOTBALL/ PLAYOFFS MITCHELL FIELD WRESTLING/I COLISEUM 21 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL/V AT INDIANA UNIvERSITY, 7:30 PM HOCKEY/V AT BOWLING GREEN, 7:00 PM WOMEN'S SWIMMINGN vs. PENN STATE CANHAM NATATORIUM, 3:00 PM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL/V AT MSU, FELPAUSCH TOURNAMENT FLAG FOOTBALL/I PLAYOFFS, MITCHELL FIELD 22 FIELD HOCKEYN AT NCAA FINAL FOUR STORRS, CT FOOTBALL/V vs OHIO STATE MICHIGAN STADIUM NOON MEN'S RUGBY/C ELBEL FIELD NOON WOMEN'S VOLLEYBAUJV AT PENN STATE 7:30 PM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL/V AT MSU FELPAUSCH TOURNAMENT WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL/C CCRB MAIN GYM 8:00 AM 1<" A- A -0- 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 FIELD HOCKEY/V M/W CROSS-COUNTRY/V MEN'S BASKETBALL/V PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/I PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL/V WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL/V AT NCAA FINAL FOuR AT NCAA NA T NL C!-I c-'S I y S ,YOT ARENA YOST ARENA VS. OHIO STATE VS. PURDUE STORRS, CT .RAl' SC C.R ARLA 730 PM FLAG FOOTBALL/I FLAG FOOTBALL/ CLIFF KEEN ARENA, 7:00 PM CLIFF KEEN ARENA, 7:00 PM HOCKEY/V MEN'S BASKETBALL/V PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/ PLAVOIS PLAYOFFS HOCKEYN SENIOR RECOGNITION NIGHT VS OHIO STATE To O 700 PM Yos A A MITCHLL FIL MITCHELL FIELD VS. MINNESOTA MEN'S BASKETBALL/V JOE LOUIS ARENA, DETROIT PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/I WALLYBALL/I YOST ARENA, 7:00 PM AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT 3:00 PM YOST A :P .FIMSB MEN'S BASKETBA/V PRE-SEASON BROOMBALL/I WALLYBALL/I FLAG FOOTBALL/I AT FLORIDA INT'L TOURN. YOST ARENA PAYOFFS IMSB PLAKI Ss FLAG FOOTBALL/I FLAG FOOTBALL/I FLAG FOOTBALL/I MITCHLL FLU PLAYOFFS, MITCHELL FIELD PLAYOFFS, MITCHELL FIELD PLAYOFFS MICEL F:lo n O LI t1 0; F. 0 t) II t) d4 0 nI c u 3 c -I 4,,. - - a a 30 HOCKEY/V VS. WISCONSN YOST ARENA, 4:00 PM MEN'S BASKETBALL/V AT DETROIT MERCY COBO HALL, 2:00 PM FLAG FOOTBALL/I PLAYOFFS MITCHELL FIELD Ready for career training camp? describing your academic achievements, This summer, spend 10 weeks extra-curricular activities and career inter contributing to the #1 name in ests; two letters of recommendation from sports through NIKE faculty members or previous Internship '98. d9 0:t employers; and a document To apply, you must showing your GPA and a copy be a sophomore, junior, senior of your most recent transcript. or grad student in the U.S. dur- Complete packages must be post- ing the '97-'98 school year with a 3.0 marked by January 2, 1998. GPA or higher. Send a scannable resume For more information, call NIKE at with your graduation date and a letter (800) 890-6453 or go to info.nike.com. 1 I. You can't argue with a record that gets better every year. And that's just what Michigan's Men's Soccer Club is doing. The club has outdone itself every season for the past five years, charting a steady rise to the top of the field. Not only have they qualified for the National Championship Tournament for five straight years, they made it to the quarterfinals in 1994, the semifinals in 1995 and the National Championship game last year where they finished second. Next goal: the number 1 spot. f m #1i . '1 Hi, I'm Jen Linder, your NIKE student rep. Sports1/2Page plugs you into I -,. .J