MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL No.2 N. CAROLINA 97, No 1 Duke 73 NO. 4 ARIZONA 112 Washington 81. No. 5 UTAH 83, Brigham Young 68 OREGON 97, No. 6 UCLA 81 No. 12 N. MEXICO 89, Wyoming. 59 No. 14 ARKANSAS 100. No. 16 Mississippi 87 No. 20 Cincinnati 109. DEPAUL 73 No. 25 Geo. Wash. 82, SASALLE 65 AKRON 69, Eastern Michigan 67 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL No. 20 WASH. 77, No. 9 Arizona 73 No. 10 Vanderbilt 72. MISSISSIPPI STATE 66 r No. 12 FLORIDA 80, Arkansas 69 SPORTS The Michigan track teams compete all day tomorrow in the Meyo Invitational. If you want to support the team in person, you're in for a hike. The meet takes-- place in South Bend. 0 Friday February 6, 1998 0 I Al' better late fihan never ... for now t's one thing when Michigan fans don't show up to Crisler Arena. It's another thing when the Wolverines themselves don't come. Not to say that the Wolverines didn't show up at all at last night's game against Northwestern. They were just ... embarrassingly, unfashionably late. For once -- and I mean once - the fans had an excuse. Deciding between a Michigan-Northwestern game and Must-See TV, Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan or Duke-North Carolina is a no-brainer. For those who did watch Michigan jump out to a 7- 0 lead over the Wildcats before switching to Harding- Kerrigan -- the other cat-fight -- were probably shocked to check back and see the Wolverines down 34-27 at the half- to Northwestern! What happened? Evan Eschmeyer is what hap- pened. The Wildcats' center, Northwestern's version of Charles Woodson, flat-out exerted his will on the Wolverines in the first half. Eschmeyer went 5-of-6 from the field - from right under the net to be exact, netting 10 points and six boards before halftime. Meanwhile, the Wildcats not only silenced the Michigan offense, but also its fans. While DAN Eschmeyer dominated inside the STILLMAN paint, the Wildcats' three-point specialist, Sean Wink, burned S the the Wolverines from the perime- ter. Nine of Wink's 18 points came from beyond the arc, while most of the other nine came from just a step or two insIde of it. Midwav through the second half, the Wildcats- yes, the 1-8-in-the-conference Wildcats - held a 12- point lead over the Wolverines. Northwestern even managed to do the impossible - silence Robert Traylor's grandmother - for most of the game. Not that a letdown is ever acceptable, but one would be most expected against Northwestern. As usual, the AVildcats came to Ann Arbor last night drowning near the bottom of the Big Ten, just in front of last-place Ohio State. But this wasn't just some meaningless game against a struggling team. These are games the Wolverines can't afford to overlook. One loss ---just one -- to a conference cellar-dweller is all it will take to knock M ichigan out of the Big Ten race. With all that, no matter how played out it sounds. the Wildcats are a tougher opponent than their record indicates. The Wildcats also led for most of their game Blue de-claws . pesky Wildcats.I Wolverines overcome 12-pt. deficit By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor With a lot of defense and a lot of help from unlikely sources, Michigan did a little growing up last night. The Wolverines, who got a strong all- around showing from Jerod Ward and a pair of timely 3-pointers from Robbie Reid, shook off a "nonchalant" perfor- mance and a pesky Northwestern team last night to win, 74-67, in front of 12,173 fans at Crisler Arena: Michigan trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, but held the Wildcats to just 33 points after halftime and Michigan 74 Northwestern 67 c 1 i n l i e d the victory by making 7 of 8 free throws in the game's final 2:22. "Northwestern played an excellent game," Ward said. "But we just kept fighting and fighting and fighting. and we did what we had to do. It's a great victory for us." Michigan trailed for most of the evening, and used an 18-4 run to turn a 52-40 deficit into a 58-56 lead with 4:15 remaining. The spurt was high- lighted by Reid's bombs from beyond the are, and the play that finally gav c the Wolverines the lead was an emphat- ic dunk by Ward off a nifty interior wraparound pass by Robert Traylor. But the Wildcats refused to fold, even when Big iTen scoring leader Evan Eschmeyer, who scored 15 points but managed just one field goal after hal f- time, fouled out with 1:31 remaining. It was one of the few times during the game when the crowd was on its feet, and Eschmeyer departed to a Yost-like "See Ya! Northwestern freshman Shawn Wink, who Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe referred to as "money," hit three jumpers in a span of two minutes and almost single-handedly kept his team afloat. But two straight three-point plays by Maceo Baston and a host of free throws secured the victory for Michigan. "I think talent might have taken over: Northwestern coach Kevin O'Neill sid about the game's conclusion. "They're probably a better team than wec are right now, but w e had a chance to win the game. We're very disappointed." Ward's contribution was a welcoine one for the Wolverines, who got ju,4 10 points .-- on 2-for-10 shooting - from Traylor. Northwestern double-teamned Traylor for much of the evening,and with Baston in his usual foul trouble (he picked up his fourth with 6:50 remain- ing), the Wolverines were looking for someone to step up. Ward made seven of his 10 shots from the field en route to 19 points,;but more impressive were his other stars'-- 8 rebounds and 4 steals against just one turnover. "The guy's starting to mature as a player," O'Neill said about Ward. "I think he's a very valuable piece of thei team. He hurt us tonight by being aggressive, and he's just a good player." Michigan started the game trapping the inbound pass after made baskets, and jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the opening five minutes. But by the sec- ond television timeout, with 1 1:42 until halftime, the Wildcats had narrowed the gap to a single point. Eschmeyer used his 6-foot- Ii rame to tally 10 points and four assists by the4 half, and with no Michigan player in double digits, the Wolverines went into the lockerroom down 34-27. The Wildcats started the second half by pushing their lead to 11 poiits. When Michigan closed to within six at 46-40, a goaltending call on Baston and an offensive foul on Traylor led to a Nate Pomeday 3-pointer and eventu- ally landed Michigan in a 12-point deficit. "I thought we could have done some things better, but Northwestern rally just played a very good game," Ellerbe said. ""They took us right down to the wire. I'm just glad we came out with a \ 1in. WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan managed to Ward off Northwestern last night, beating the Wildcats, 74-67, after being down by as many as 12 points. Jerod Ward was one of the keys for the Wolverines, pouring in 19 points on the night. against Michigan State on Saturday, until the Spartans overtook them near the end. First-year coach Kevin O'Neill senses his is a dif- ferent Northwestern team than ones of years past. "This time of year. our guys usually fold up. have a book club and do all that," said O'Neill. In fact, the Wildcats looked nothing like a team considering giving up. For most of the game, their shooting was good, their passing crisp and their deci- sions smart. But as O'Neill admitted, Michigan's talent eventually took over. And as Michigan found its game late in the second half, Traylor's grandmother found her voice. Even though the Wolverines escaped with a they know they can't afford to show\ up late again especially tonorrow in Minneapolis, where they haven't won since 1993. "Obviously, we're not going to win if we play like that in Minnesota:' Iravis Conlan said. Obvious ly. D /an Si'i/l n can be leached bie e-mail at dn ysuumic.edu Familiar venue for hockey tomorrow By Fred Link Daily Sports Writer Over the past two seasons. Joe Louis Arena has been home-away-from-home for the Michigan hockey team. The Wolverines (16-4-1 CCII A 22- 6-1 overall) have played II times at Joe Louis, los- ing only once. -------------------- Despite their familiar- Tomorrow's game ity with the Joe, playing Who: Michigan vs. LSSU at the home of the Where:joe Louis Arena Detroit Red Wings is When:7 pm. still special for some of Notables: Michigan blew the the Wolverines. Lakers out,7-0.in the teams "Personallv. I like first mneeting this season. Lake Superior and coach playing at Joe Louis. Scott Borek will try to repay Michigan defenseman the Wolverines - and this Sean Peach said. "I like time Fox Sports Detroit playing in front of a lot (Channel 27) is televising the of people. It kind of mnatchup. makes me feel like a pro when I play there." But this weekend's matchup with Lake Superior State (9-9-4, 12-11-4) would be a big game no matter where it was played. The Wolverines find themselves in first place in the CCHA, just two points ahead of second-place Michigan State, which plays at Ohio State and at Miami (Ohio) this weekend. "With Michigan State, they're two points back with one game in-hand," Peach said. "So, if they win that gaiie, we're tied with them. Every gaie is Iu gc, because if we finish in first we get ali automatic bid to the NCA As." If the Wolverines are to take two points from the Lakers, they'll have to rebound from a hor- rendous third period in Saturday's 5-4 victory over Notre Dame, in which Michigan blew a three-goal lead. "When you have a bad period, the guys realize that they can't be kidding themselves anymore," Michigan forward Greg Crozier said. "We're going to go out there and be focused for a com- plete 60 minutes, so I think it was kind of a wake- up call for us." Even though Michigan beat the Lakers, 7-0, ear- lier this season in Sault Ste. Marie, the Wolverines expect a much better game this weekend. Since losing to Michigan, the Lakers have gone 8-4-1 and have moved into sixth place in the con- ference. "We were playing Lake State at a time when they were struggling a little bit," Peach said. "And they've definitely picked up their game. This should be a tough challenge." Offensively, the Lakers are led by senior center Terry Marchant and Junior left wing Jason Sessa. Marchant is fourth in the CCHA in scoring with 16 goals and 21 assists, while Sessa has 14 goals and 10 assists. "They're as good as there is in the league at cyclinc their forwards." Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "They're big and strong along the boards and they try to keep there and cycle it. That's one of their trademarks. "Marchant is having a great year, just like (Michigan forward Bill) Mtckalt. And Sessa is a real sniper forward. He's a real good goal-scorer. So they've got two or three forwards up front - just like we do - that can break open a game." On the blue line, the Lakers are a young tean and have struggled at times due to their inexperi ence. "Back on defense, they're young like we are," Berenson said. "You don't know what you're gQing to get from game to game." In goal, the Lakers rely on freshman netmimder Rob Galatiuk, who boasts a 2.28 goals-against average and a 0.900 save percentage. "At the start of the year they weren't gettingthe goalkeeping they needed," Berenson said. -But now they're tightening up, and they're a teamha. is still in the hunt for home ice in the playoffs." On special teams, the Lakers lead the CCHA in penalty killing, having given up just 1 1 power-play goals in league games. while scoring 10 short- handed goals. "They're a better team than when we played them last," Berenson said. "Hopefully, we're a bet- ter team too. "This won't be a 7-0 game -- I'll tell you that." JOHN KRAFT/Daily Mchigan's Scott Matzka will get to show off his sparring techniques tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena, when the Wolverines face Lake Superior State. Are you thinking about law school? 0. If! Are you thinking about law school? Plan to attend and bring a friend to...... STUDENTS OF COLOR LAW DAY " Collect application information and explore law education options. " Learn about newly developed programs targeting students of color. " Win t-shirts, sweatshirts and other stuff from schools For a good cause ... The first annual University of Michigan Dance Marathon will sponsor a silent auction featuring various sports memorabilia this weekend. Items will include an autographed Buffalo Bills football and a baseball signed by Scott Kamenecki, as well as several other autographed items by current Michigaf athletes. In addition, two autographed photographs of former president and Michigan football player Gerald Ford will be included, with a 'Hail to the Victors' inscription. The auction, which will support the Children's Miracle Network, will be held during the dance, which takes place at the Indoor Track Building from 10 a.m. tomorrow until 3 p.m. Sunday. DENTAL HEALTH DAY .. ....... . !77M