10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 1, 1998 Smith absent from lineup, likely to return for Bradley By Andy Latack Daily Sports Writer Starting forward Brandon Smith was absent from Michigan's lineup yesterday, because the sophomore returned to Texas to be with his family. Smith's grandmother died Saturday, and services were held yesterday in his hometown of Amarillo. Smith, who had started every game this season and was averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, is expected to return for Wednesday's game against Bradley. Smith's return will hopefully give the Wolverines an extra boost to exact revenge against Bradley after they were upset last season.- "We miss Brandon a lot, because he's a big part of the team," guard Basketball Robbie Reid said. "He'll definite- Notebook ly be included in our prayers." _____-___- Freshman Leon Jones took Smith's place in the starting lineup and scored four points before fouling out with just more than three min- utes to play. WHITE OUT: To combat boredom during last night's ho-hum contest, the normally-stoic Crisler fans took a sudden liking to Tiger freshman guard Danny White. Jeering "Whiiiiite!" every time the sub touched the ball, the Tempe, Ariz. native elicited more crowd noise than the Wolverines could all evening. The reserve may have been fazed by the taunts, going the length of the game without attempting a shot. But at least he gave the Michigan faithful a reason to stick around in the second half. GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS: Both teams came out catatonic in the first half, putting on a listless offensive showing that was reminiscent of a high school game. Michigan did not reach double figures on the scoreboard until the contest was I1 minutes old, and the teams com- bined for just 39 points in the first frame, despite a late "We miss Brandon a lot, because he's a big part of our teams He'll definitely be included in our prayers" - Robbie Reid Michigan men's basketball guard surge by Michigan to take a 23-16 lead into the locker room. The Wolverines were able to warm up in the second half, but the Tigers still suffered an icy touch from the field, shooting just thirty-seven percent and scoring just 45 points. "We tried to put pressure on them early and make them do things they weren't accustomed to doing," senior guard Louis Bullock said of Michigan's full- court press, which they adopted midway through the first half. LOU LEADS THE CHARGE: Bullock single-handedly helped the Wolverines out of their first-half scoring slump, putting in nine points during a three-minute stretch near the end of the half. The Wolverines' switch to a full-court press kindled a Michigan run, as Bullock knocked the ball away from Towson forward Josh Davalli and hammered down a dunk at the other end of the court. Bullock would go on to hit three more buckets, includ- ing a 3-pointer, as the Wolverines scored 14 unanswered points and took a lead they would never relinquish. Towson forward Alphonso Hawes finally stopped the bleeding for the Tigers, grabbing a miss and putting it in with 3:25 left and Michigan enjoying a 21-10 lead. LOUIS BROWN/Daily Louis Bullock led the Michigan charge against Towson with 15 points and five rebounds In 34 minutes. Wrestlers ready to hit the slots Blue heads to Nevada for first out-of-state tournament ByDavid Mosse Daily Sports Writer The Michigan wrestling team hopes to continue its flying start as it prepares for its third tournament of the season. This weekend the Wolverines will have travel to Primm, Nev., in search of further success. Michigan is coming off excellent performances in its first two compe- titions of the season. The Wolverines opened the season UNIVERS__ _TY_ - with an impressive performance at the Michigan State Open. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS Three Michigan grapplers won 232 Bay State Rd., 5th Floor their weight class. Several others fin- Boston, MA 02215 ished among the top of their respec- 6171353-9888 tive divisions.. abroad@bu.edu Last week the Wolverines sparkled www.bu.edu/abroad in the Ben McMullen Open. An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution In Muskegon, four Michigan S- . " - *.. : - . wrestlers were crowned tournament The University of Michigan WHAT'S REC Department of Recreational Sports SPORTS HAPPENING ---T INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM INTRAMURALS champions which definitely satis- fied the Michigan coaches. "It was a tough tournament because it was all day with no breaks," Michigan assistant coach Kirk Trost said. "We had four cham- pions." The fast start is especially pleasing to the Wolverines squad which, heading into the season, faced sever- al questions regarding its youth. Several freshmen and sophomores participated in the McMullen Open and performed admirably. The Wolverines have benefited from their depth as several different wrestlers have achieved successful results. At the McMullen Open, Mike Kulezycki, Charles Martelli and Matt Brink each won their respective weight classes. Kulczycki compiled a 4-0 record in winning the 141 pound division. Martelli posted a 5-0 record in win- ning the 157 pound class. Brink, 4-0, was tops in the heavyweight divi- sion. Brink's victory was personally gratifying - the Muskegon native wrestled in front of several family and friends. As the Wolverines finish digesting their thanksgiving dinners and return to practice to continue their season, the team knows it must guard against over-confidence. "We can't get too full of ourselves because we still have a long way to go," assistant coach Joe McFarland said. "It's only two tournaments." This week in practice the Wolverines will get back to funda- mentals as they work to shake off the rust built over the thanksgiving break. Conditioning drills and technique work was the order of the day for the grapplers on Monday. "We just need to go over basic things," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "We should be ready for this weekend." McFarland, who is set to take over as head coach next season, is perhaps the happiest person to see the fresh- man and sophomores flourishing on this years squad. These wrestlers will most likely form the nucleus of next year's team. But the future is now for the Michigan wrestlers who appear on a mission to send their legendary coach out a winner. Bahr will retire at the end of the season after 21 years as the head man at Michigan. The tournament in Nevada will mark the first trip outside the state of Michigan for the Wolverines. The competition opens Friday night and ends Saturday night. 'M' hoops pummels Towson TIGERS Continued from Page 9 wanted it "I don't know how much you enjoyed that," Jaskulski said to the media. "It was an awful, slow-paced game. But it's something we felt we had to do." With Michigan's distinct size advantage - Vignier and Jos Asselin towered over their Tigew counterparts by a solid five inches - Jaskulski knew that Michigan would control the boards. So the Tigers had to slow the pace, working to get open looks for their outside shooters. Only the shooters couldn't make the shots fall. "We came in knowing that we're not going to get second chances," Jaskulski said. "But we did havO some open looks, and we needed to make them all. If we shot 50- or 60- percent from the field, we would have been right in this game." Michigan used a well-balanced attack, with Bullock scoring 15 and Reid and Asselin adding 14. Vignier led the Wolverines with nine rebounds. Chris Young, seeing significant playing time with Brandon Smith's absence, scored seven points an* grabbed six boards. Towson (45) i TRED MN M-A M-A 04 A F P11 Barber 29 410 34 2-2 1 3 11" Hawes 37 3-6 0-1 35 0 3 6 Davali 33 1-6 1-2 0-1 0 0 3 DePablo 33 04 0-0 0-2 0 3 0 Cason 26 24 22 03 1 2 6 Mauro 14 39 24 2-2 0 2 9 White 13 00 0-0 0-3 2 0 0 Holtz 15 47 22 26 0 2 1 Totals 200 17.45 1415 926 4 15 FG%: .370 FT%:.667. 3-oInt F: 1-14 .071 (Mauro 1-4. Davali04, DePablo 0-4, Barber 0-1. Cason 0-1). Blocks: 1 (Hawes). Steals: 2 (Davalli, Holtz). Technical Fouls: 0. Michigan (60) FT RED MIN -A NM-A P A F PS Jones 16 1-2 22 00 1 5 4 Asselin 30 3-3 8-11 0-5 1 0 14 Vignier 30 2-4 00 19 1 2 4 Reid 35 5-0 00 041 3 2 14 Bullock 34 6-13 1-2 1-5 1 2 15 Taylor 8 01 0-0 0-0 12 0 Oliver 24 1-1 00 0-0 2 1 2 Denning 2 041 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Young 18 2-4 3-4 2-6 0 2 7 Szynlar 3 0-0 00 00 0 1 Totals 200 2039 14-19 6-29 10 17 FG%: 513 FT%:.737 3-point FG: 617 353(Rei 48. Bullock 27, Denning 01, Jones 01) Blocks: 2 (Asselin 2). Steals: 1 (Bullock). Technical Fouls: 0. Towson------------16 29-45 Michigan------------.........23 37 - 60 At: Crisler Arena Attendance: 10,916 SPIKERS Continued from Page 9 teams are in the same position. Any team can win and claim to love the game. It's easy to get along with teammates when events fall into place and the team is winning. There were no problems when the Wolverines swept then-No. 22 Minnesota in their annual Rock the House game. But there was no bitterness or finger pointing when team finished its season on a eight-game losing streak. They still had fun. If it weren't for the frustration tl' team endured, however, there would have been no hardship to overcome and nothing to persevere. Instead of disinte- grating, it has persevered. Through hardship, disappointments, and frustration, the players strove high to maintain their love for the sport and the friendships they've made. "This is not a program in shambles;" Giovanazzi said. "This is a tight unit th hasn't competed well this year, but h stayed together. Nobody has left the pro- gram, there hasn't been any problems, there hasn't been any of that bullshit. "It's been just straight forward trying to get better and not succeeding." They have stayed together, picked each other up and played with an emo- tion rarely seen in college sports today. The Wolverines believe that they have won a more important victory than most teams have won this year. A moral victory. 1 PRE-SEASON BASKETBALL ENTRIES TAKEN: Mon 11/30 to Weds 12/2 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM, IMSB ENTRY FEE: $35 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Thurs 12/3, 6:00 PM, IMSB TOURNAMENT DATES: Sat & Sun 12/5 & 12/6, IMSB ICE HOCKEY ENTRIES TAKEN: Wednesday 1/6/99 ONLY 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM ENTRY FEE: $395 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Thurs 1/7, 6:00 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Sun 1/10/99 Yost Ice Arena Happy Hour Specials December Early Bird Bargain 1/2 Off Any Pub Bite Appetizer 3-5pm Monday - Friday $1.00 OFF ALL PINTS & MIXED DRINKS 3-7pm Monday - Friday Tuesday Steak Night, e St. 9 oz Ribeye Dinner ys.com only $ 5.49 400000*,0, t BASKETBALL ENTRIES TAKEN: Monday 1/11/99 ONLY 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM ENTRY FEE: $70 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Weds 1/13, 6 & 9 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Thurs 1/14/99 IMSB & Sports Coliseum S TEAM RACQUETBALL ENTRIES TAKEN: Monday 1/11/99 ONLY 11:00 AM to 5:30PM, IMSB ENTRY FEE: $35 per team MANAGER'S MEETING: MANDATORY Weds 1/13,7:00 PM, IMSB PLAY BEGINS: Thurs 1/14/99 WT4 M Good Food " Good Beer " Good Friends I I 338 S. Statt 996-9'191 www.ashlej ow L 0 w I I I U ___- I :... : :,: f- .- .-. .. -rt- F -$. - .