18A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 18, 1999
Kentucky c ts over Penn in
preseason NIT; Maryland rolls
I
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- No.
14 Kentucky took control with an
18-4 run midway through the sec-
ond half and cruised to a 67-50 vic-
tory over Pennsylvania yesterday
night in the first round of the
Preseason NIT.
With the season-opening win, the
Wildcats advanced to face No. 16
Utah in the second round of the
tournament, to be played tomorrow
at Rupp Arena.
The winner travels to Madison
Square Garden in New York for next
week's semifinals.
Coming off the bench, freshman
big man Marvin Stone enjoyed a
sensational debut for the Wildcats,
leading the team with 12 points and
grabbed six rebounds. His rim-rat-
tling dunk with 5:56 remaining gave
Kentucky a 61-44 lead and brought
'the fans out of their seats to punctu-
ate the win.
Though their attack frequently
sputtered, the Wildcats got balanced
scoring and rebounding from up and
down their lineup. Jamaal Magloire
had 11 points and a team-high nine
rebounds, Tayshaun Prince had nine
points and eight rebounds and
Desmond Allison had I1 points and
seven boards.
A swarming Kentucky defense,
which mixed in liberal doses of a
full- and half-court press, limited
Penn to just 31.6 percent shooting
from the field, 26.9 percent from 3-
point range. For the game, the
Wildcats outrebounded the Quakers
43-37.
Matt Langel and Ugonna
Onyekwe each had 14 points for the
Penn, with Onyekwe grabbing eight
rebounds.
Guard Michael Jordan, who aver-
aged 15.3 points per game last sea-
son for the Ivy League champions,
was held scoreless in the first half
and finished with just five points on
2-of-14 shooting.
With Kentucky leading 38-36
with 13:46 remaining, Saul Smith
kicked off the Wildcats' charge with
a 3-pointer. Moments later, after a
frenetic series of steals and blocks
at both ends of the floor, Stone
added a short jumper to push the
lead to seven.
After two free throws by Allison
and another 3-pointer, this one by
Prince, Kentucky led 48-36 and was
in control.
The Wildcats had jumped ahead
15-4 in the first half, thanks to an
11-0 run, but tentative offensive
play and mediocre shooting let Penn
back into the game.
Trailing 21-13, the Quakers got
five points from Onyekwe and eight
points from Langel, including two
3-pointers, in a 13-2 surge that gave
them a brief lead.
Langel, however, played most of
the first half with two fouls and
picked up his third early in the sec-
ond half, forcing Penn coach Fran
Dunphy to sit him for long stretch-
es. He never regained his shooting
touch, finishing 5-of-II from the
field.
MARYLAND 71, SAN FRANCISCO 61
Forgive Gary Williams and the
Maryland Terrapins for not being
swept away by emotion over the
coach's 400th career victory. They've
got more important things on their
mind, most notably a Thanksgiving a
trip to New York.
Juan Dixon scored a career-high
20 points Wednesday night as
Maryland gave Williams that 400th
win by beating San Francisco 71-61
in the opening round of the
Preseason NIT.
"It doesn't mean a lot right now,
but I'm sure it will someday,"
Williams said of his milestone victo-
ry. "To get the season off with a win
is the most important thing."
Maryland will play host to Tulane
in the second round tomorrow night.
The winner of that game advances to
the semifinals at Madison Square
Garden on Nov. 24.
"He really didn't talk to us about
his 400th win at all," Maryland's
Mike Mardesich said. "He wanted
us to focus on the game. We wanted
to do it for him, but it wasn't a fac-
tor in how we played."
The Terrapins never trailed en
route to their 65th consecutive non-
conference win at home, the longest
current streak in the nation.
Maryland let a 16-point lead dwin-
dle to two in the second half before
Lonny Baxter scored seven straight
points in a pivotal 8-0 run that made
it 62-52 with 6:07 left.
"The coach said get the ball
inside. They were focusing on
Terence Morris, so that left me
free," Baxter said. "When I catch
the ball inside, I expect to score."
James Lee had 15 points and
Kenyon Jones added 13 for the
Dons, who scored only nine points
over the final nine minutes.
"Maryland was everything we
thought they'd be," San Francisco
coach Phil Mathews said. "They're
an awfully young team and they
made some mistakes. We just made
more of them."
The Dons committed 23 turnovers
and shot 41 percent, including 2-
for-12 from 3-point range.
Dixon, a sophomore guard, was 9-
of-17 from the field and grabbed
seven rebounds. Baxter had 18
points, nine rebounds and five
blocked shots.
"We knew we'd have problems
with Baxter. He's a horse," Mathews
said.
Williams, now in his 22nd season,
owns a 400-245 career record. He's
won 193 games at Maryland and a
combined 207 at American
University, Boston College and
Ohio State.
With 1:31 left, the fans at Cole
Field House began chanting "Gary!
Gary!" and many displayed small
cards with the number 400 on them.
"I'm glad it's over because it's
unfair to the players," Williams
said. "It's their season, not my sea-
son. It's about the games we win,
not if the coach gets 400."
Maryland led 54-40 before San
Francisco got six points from
Darrell Tucker in a 12-0 run that
made it 54-52 with 9:31 left. Baxter
then made a layup and later hit a
free throw to put Maryland up by
five with 7:56 remaining.
After Tucker missed a layup,
Baxter scored inside and hit two
free throws on the Terrapins' next
possession to make it 61-52.
San Francisco committed five
turnovers and missed three of four
shots in the opening four minutes to
fall behind 8-2, then used a 10-4
surge to pull even.
I.
4 ( .'1-p
AP PHC
Drew Nicholas (right) and Maryland applied enough defensive pressure to slip past San Francisco at home yesterday night,
71-61.
It was 16-16 before Mardesich
made a foul shot to start a 13-4 run
in which six players scored. After
the Dons closed to 30-24, Maryland
reeled off six straight points to go
up by 12.
The Terrapins expanded a 14-
point halftime lead to 44-28 early in
the second half before USF
answered with a 5-0 run. Mardesich
then scored in the lane and Morris
hit a follow shot to up the margin to
15 points.
Morris, a preseason All-America,
finished with 16 points and ni
rebounds.
"I don't think he'd call that a gre
game, but tonight Lonny was op
and they did a good job on Terence
Williams said. "Wherever the poin
come from, we'll take it."
There's something about Favre - injury
may keep him out of action in near future
Brett Favre leads
the NFL in inter-
ceptions this sea-
son - an unlikely
fate that has
befallen one of
the league's top
quarterbacks.
AP PHOTO
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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - It
must be the thumb.
That's the thinking around
Lambeau Field, where coaches,
*-teammates and fans are all wonder-
ing what's wrong with Brett Favre.
The three-time MVP was erratic
and inconsistent as the Green Bay
Packers lost four of their last five
games and stumbled to a 4-5 record.
With the losses, his poor play and a
nagging injury to his right thumb,
those close to Favre - including his
father - say the quarterback's confi-
dence has dropped as well.
The Packers realize they have to
get Favre back on track, or Green
Bay might find itself out of the play-
offs for the first time since 1992.
Coach Ray Rhodes plans to try
everything from increased use of the
no-huddle offense to a bigger
emphasis on the running game when
the Packers play host to Detroit on
Sunday, their opportunity to exact
revenge on the Lions for an earlier
loss at the Silverdome.
"There's a sense of urgency to
solving these problems, because
Brett, he's our meal ticket," Rhodes
said. "As he goes, so this team goes."
Favre suffered a bruised and
swollen thumb during the preseason
when he slammed his hand into the
helmet of Denver's John Mobley, and
the injury has been aggravated sever-
al times since. He bruised a tendon
in the thumb, which has affected his
ability to handle the ball.
And even though both Favre and
the team's medical staff say the
injury is inconvenient but minor,
speculation still exists that it has
affected him more than anyone is let-
ting on.
Most recently, Favre was 26-of-50
for 260 yards and two interceptions
in the Packers' 27-13 loss to Dallas.
Favre sprayed the ball around the
field, by his own count missing at
least 10 receivers on throws that
were too long, too short or just plain
bad.
"There's throws I've missed this
year that I can make with my eyes
closed," Favre said. "And it would be
easy to blame it on my hand and
thumb, but I can't do that.
"I know guys are saying, 'Hey, if
Brett was healthy, he'd make those
throws.' Well, no one really cares
about that. You have to make them."
Favre's 15 interceptions lead the
NFL, and his quarterback rating of
69.5 is 26th. He has 13 touchdown
passes, putting his streak of five con-
secutive seasons with more than 30
TD passes in jeopardy.
There were even rumors - com-
pletely untrue, as it turns out - that
Rhodes was close to sitting Favre
down for one or two games to heal
his hand and collect his head. Favre's
father was quoted last weekend as
saying his son has little confidence
in his game, a notion Favre himself
disputes.
"I can't get down on myself. Too
much is asked of me," Favre said. "I
want to be the guy that guys can
count on."
Favre has been at his best this sea-
son when his back was against the
wall, leading several furious drives
and three game-winning comebacks
with a no-huddle offense. Rhodes
said the Packers are considering
using the no-huddle more often dur-
ing games as a way to allow Favre to
relax and play on instinct.
"I don't think you can do it the
whole game," Rhodes said. "You'd
have to say, 'OK, in the first quarter,
the second series of a game, the thi
series, we're going to go no-hud4l
But you couldn't do it the enti
game."
Favre was the NFC's Player o
Month for September, largely o
strength of his clutch performanc
in the Packers' three come-froi
behind wins. He set the NFL rem
for consecutive starts by a qua le
back against the Chicago Bears
Nov. 7, but he led the Packers tofu
one offensive touchdown in th
game.
Offensive coordinator Sheri
Lewis said the solution to Fa4r
problems might lie in the Pae
running game, which has y
establish itself as a threat this seas
even though Dorsey Levens is i
in the league in yards from sct
mage. Levens had just 31 yards rts
ing against the Cowboys.
"Brett's one of those warriors w
wouldn't hurt the team if he could
play," receiver Bill Schroeder tii
"Even though he's made some i
takes, he makes more plays tha
quarterback in the league. r
Favre at 75 percent is better thanj
about anybody."
I
r
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