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 jou a IZ L- ~NOL6F4E~$FAN??? Wx* .CAM?U$LLI\$IC$.LOMc, 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 Attention All Majors! DAILY SPORTS. WE NEVER GO FOR TWO. -U A The School of Information invites students from all majors to its Open House and Student Projects Showcase. Discover how the Master of Science in information can benefit you in careers in: , f ,.,..,. " E-commerce " Electronic records management " Human-computer interaction We have the following career opportunities * Library services Open House Technical Consultants Come learn more about Sabre!