The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 6, 1999 - 78 Quote of the weekend rrI'd like to have him." - Chattanooga coach Hemy Dickerson, on Michigan point guard Kevin Gaines. K Michigan 72 Player of the game Wing forward LaVe Blanchard Blanchard took a stagnant Michigan ontjnse and kicked it into high gear on Saturday ignit- ing a second-halrun that would 1ury Chattanoogafor good. The freshman finished with 21 points. Chattanooga 61 Cable guy Gaines jumps 'M' , ; ' 't1 . By Jacob Wheeler Daily Sports Writer P#f#4 1If the Michigan basketball team resembled a dead car battery in the first half of Saturday's game against Chattanooga, then point guard Kevin Gaines jump-started the automobile. "If he didn't play as hard and as well on the basketball, it would have been a very different game," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said, referring to how Gaines hounded the Chattanooga ball- handlers. "He was definitely the rea- son we were able to do some things defensively." The Wolverines never shifted past second gear in the game's first 20 min- utes, and Ellerbe would later cite exhaustion as one reason for his team's lackluster beginning. Michigan had racked up plenty of miles earlier in the week, traveling to Atlanta on Tuesday for Wednesday night's ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Ellerbe's squad awoke at 4 a.m. on Thursday so as not to lose a day of classes and exams back in Ann Arbor. But Gaines, the freshman guard who weaves through traffic and accelerates DAVIDKATZ/Daily quicker than Bond's new BMW, chigan point guard Kevin Gaines, whose moves and acceleration would impress pumped up his tired teammates. O ople at BMW, pulled his team out of stagnation against Chattanooga, after After the Mocs opened the game Aiding a gum-throwing technical in Atlanta. with a 5-2 run, Gaines put Michigan's )uke ralles from1down :o steal one fromDePaul offense on his shoulders and drove horizontally across the lane for a pret- ty reverse layup. So far this season, Gaines has aroused fans and broken full-court presses all by himself, showing ball- handling skills and speed that Michigan hasn't seen since Jalen Rose of the Fab Five. On the ensuing offensive possession though, Gaines carelessly coughed up the ball as he dribbled into the paint. But embarrassment didn't get the best of him. An upset Gaines sprinted back on defense and knocked the ball away from his adversary, re-claiming the basketball and his prominence on the court. A player like this is fun to watch. Gaines drove the length of the court and dropped in another two. igniting an 8-2 Michigan run. "I'd like to have him," said Chattanooga coach Henry Dickerson, who described Gaines as "a player who can push the ball, guard you, get to the paint and make the big man step up. He's a complete player." But unlike the soft-spoken LaVell Blanchard, who has very quietly picked up the scoring load in the last two games, Gaines feeds off his own intensity. And he helps the team with that itensity on defense. as well as on offense. "I had to set the tempo for the defense," Gaines said. "I had to force their guards to turn the ball over" Whenever Gaines forces a turnover on defense, it reinforces Michigan's run-and-gun style of basketball. Gaines' passion on the court can sometimes turn a little sour - as a few fans and media members saw last Wednesday in Atlanta. As the Wolverines sank deeper into foul trouble against Georgia Tech, and watched their lead evaporate, the Yellow Jackets frustrated Gaines with "a full-court press he had to permeate all by himself. After a bad break for the Wolverines, an aggravated Gaines inconspicuously threw his chewing gum into the crowd, in the direction of a heckler. The antic wasn't seen by any officials - important for Michigan. and Gaines quick outburst didn't make him self-destruct. He broke Georgia Tech's full court press enough in the final minutes to hold on to the victory. The gum incident would have gone unnoticed, had the pellet not flown over press row and landed in front of the ESPN television cameras. SCORING (ThROUGH SVEGAMES) PLAYER VS. MocS AVERAGE Crawford 9 15.6 Blanchard 21 14.4 Groninger 7 11.8 Gaines 16 9.6 REBOUNDING Blanchard 8 Vignier 12 Asselin 4 ASSISTS Gaines 4 F Crawford 6 Blanchard 0 8.6 74 5.8 5.4 4.6 2.2 1.8 0.8 0.8 STEALS Ganes 1 0 TURNOVERS Crawford 3 3.6 Gaines 1 3.4 Jones 2 3.4 FIEw'GOAL PERCENTAGE Groninger . 22-38 .579 . Yignier 13-23 .565 Blanchard 27-48 . .563 3-POINT PERCENTAGE Groninger 15-27 Blanchard . 6-12 - Jones 5-11 FREE THROW PERCENi Asselins 12-15'. Blanchard . 12-18, Gaines12-18 .556 .500 .455 TAGE .80 .667 .667 JRHAM, N.C. (AP) - onventional, no way. Effective, you t. Freshman Nick Horvath hit a 3- int bank shot with 14.6 seconds ft in overtime as No. 17 Duke ral- ed from a 12-point deficit to beat o. 22 DePaul, 84-83, on Saturday ght. Horvath, who had just replaced r os Boozer for added offense, hit me-winner from the top of the y as Duke (5-2) extended its win- ng streak in steamy Cameron door Stadium to 39 games. The Blue Devils, who got a career- gh 22 points from Nate James, won eir fifth straight after starting the ason 0-2. Freshman Steven Hunter led the ue Demons (4-2) with 21 points 10 rebounds. All five DePaul rs had at least 14 points. DePaul, which led most of the me, had one last chance for the ctory. But Quentin Richardson, who ored 20 points, threw up an airball am in close against. Chris irrawell's tight defense. The ball nt out of bounds to Duke with a cond left, and fans stormed the or at the final buzzer. 4 ARIZONA 88, No. 9 TEXAS ichard Jefferson did all he uld do to beat Texas, then had to tit, and wait and wait. Jefferson scored 19 points - all in e second half - as No. 4 Arizona at No. 9 Texas on Saturday night. But after scoring eight straight ints, including two 3-pointers, to rn a 66-66 tie into a 74-68 Arizona id with 1:29 left, Jefferson had to *"on his teammates to preserve e victory. They did as the Wildcats hit 14 of free throws over the final 1:09, ssibly knocking the Longhorns im their first Top 10 ranking since 82. Texas, which had fought back am a 10-point second-half deficit, lied again and pulled within 83-81 Chris McColpins' 3-pointer with .9 seconds left before Luke Walton reshman guard Gilbert Arenas :nt 5-of-6 from the foul line in the ial seconds for Arizona (6-0). No. 24 MARYLAND 69, No. 16 ILLINOIS 67: On the surface, it was nothing more than an early season game to determine the finalist in a relatively obscure tournament. To the players and the coaches, it was so much more. Juan Dixon hit a running jumper with 6.3 seconds left and Terence Morris scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half as No. 24 Maryland edged No. 16 Illinois 69-67 Saturday in the BB&T Classic. This game, which rivaled March Madness in terms of its intensity, featured 22 lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team led by more than three points over the final eight min- utes, and by the end virtually every- one at the MCI Center was on their feet. Maryland (6-1) faced George Washington, a 72-63 winner over Seton Hall, in Sunday night's cham- pionship game. WAKE FOREST 77, NO. 10 TEMPLE 72: Robert O'Kelley scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half and reserve Craig Dawson added 16 as unbeaten Wake Forest hung on to beat No. 10 Temple 77-72 Saturday. O'Kelley and the Demon Deacons (5-0) put on a basketball clinic against the Owls, committing only one turnover in a near-perfect open- ing half while building a 26-point lead. But the Owls (2-2), behind a career-high 33 points from Mark Karcher, threw a late scare into Wake Forest, which opened 5-0 for the third time in the last four seasons under coach Dave Odom. Karcher's points came on a career-high 33 shots. The Owls, playing their third straight game without injured point guard Pepe Sanchez (ankle), were an offensive nightmare, starting the game 1-for-18 from the field to fall behind big early. Wake Forest started the second half 1-for-10 as Temple got within 15, but the 48-22 halftime score was too much for the Owls to overcome. No. 23 INDIANA 83, No. 13 KENTUCKY 75: For the first time since 1990, the Kentucky Wildcats have lost three straight games. No. 23 Indiana ended a five-game fl Big game- tickets still available The Michigan Ticket Office still has tickets available for the home games against Duke on Dec. 11 and Michigan State on Feb. 1. The office reports that a little less than 1,000 tickets are available for the game against the Blue Devils. For Michigan State, 2,400 tickets remain. Both games only, have $12 seats left. Only Michigan students and fac- ulty may purchase Michigan' State tickets in an effort to halt tickets purchases by other' schools, while insuring a Michigan community presence at the game. Duke tickets are open to the general public. The ticket office is located at 1000 S. State St. next to Yost Ice Arena. losing streak to their Ohio River rival with an 83-75 victory Saturday before a divided mix of 37,056 fans who came to the RCA Dome wearing the contrasting colors of their favorite team. An 18-4 first-half run by the Hoosiers (4-0), shooting 61 percent, proved fatal to No. 13 Kentucky (3- 3), which last lost three straight dur- ing Rick Pitino's' first year as coach of the Wildcats when they lost four in a row from Dec. 27, 1989 to Jan. 6, 1990. A.J. Guyton led Indiana with 21 points, including a 3-pointer and a jumper that put the Hoosiers up 72- 59 after Kentucky had reduced a 62- 46 deficit to eight points with about six minutes to play. The victory was the 747th for Indiana's Bobby Knight, the NCAA's winningest active coach in Division I, and broke a tie with Phog Allen for sixth place on the list of college bas- ketball's winningest coaches. - Compiled from wire reports by Joe Smith, for The Daily CHATTANOOGA (61) CG FT REB MIN M-A M-A OT A F PTS Donald 28 3-9 2-3 5-9 0 4 8' Phillips 15 1-6 -'0-0' 0-0 1 2 2 . Morton 36 5-14 0-i 3-8 3 0.10 Watkins 31 4-9 3-4 0-3 2 2 12 Harper 20 1-3 0.0 12 1 2 2 Dickerson 9 ,0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 Clark 3 0-0 0.0 0-2 00 0 Parker 14 5-8 0-0 02 0 3 11, Comser 15 3-11 2-4 5-5 0 0 10 Coleman 29 2-9 0-0 0-2 0 0 6 Totals 200 24-67 7-12 15-34 8 15 '61: FG%: .358. FT%: 583. 3-paint FG: 6-16 .375 (Cowser 2-4. Coleman 2-6, Parker 1-2;,Wtkins 1-2). Blocs: 3 (Donald 3). Steals: 10 (Cowser 3, Harper 3, Watkins 3, Dickerson). Turnovers: 15 (Donald 6, Watkins 4, Coe, Dickerson, Harper, Morton, team). Technical Fouls: none. MICHIGAN (72) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS Jones 27 1-4 2-2 0-2 4 4 4 Blanchard 30 8-11 1-2 2-8 0 2 21 Asselin 16 1-4 0-0 1-4 0 2 2 crawford 31 3-11 2-2 0-3 6 0 9 Gaines 34 8-10 0-1 2-5 4 3 16 Groninger 19 3-7 0.0 0-3 0 0 7 Young 11 1-2 0-0 1-4 0 2 2 Anderson 11 3-5 1-1 0-1 0l1 7 Vtignier 21 26 0-36-1221 4 Totals 200 30-60 6-11 14-45 16 15 72 FGW .00. %:.545 3-point FG; 6-15, .400. (Banchard 4-6, Crawford 1-4, Groninger 1-4, Jontes 0.- 1). Blocks: 6 (Asselin 2, Blanchard, Groninger, Jones, vig nier.Steals: 3 (Gaines, Vignier, Young). Turnovers: 17 (vignier4, Crawford 3, Asselin 2, Blanchard.2, Groninger 2, Jones 2, Anderson, Gaines). Technical Fouls: none. Chattanooga. 29 32 - 61 Michigan... .....28 44 - 72 At: Cnsler Arena Attendance: 11,034 DAVID KATZ/Daily Michigan forward Leon Jones grimaces in disgust at the Wolverines' sluggish start against Chattanooga. The Mocs led by one point at halftime. MOCS Continued from Page 1B from Michigan's big men. Meanwhile the Mocs controlled the offensive boards when it counted. "We played defense for about 26, 27 seconds and just didn't finish off," Ellerbe said. "They had five offensive rebounds early in the game. And when we did have a little bit of a run, we turned it over trying to make something good happen." A late 9-0 run, spurred by seven points by Blanchard, brought the Wolverines back within one by halftime. Blanchard picked things up again in a seven-minute stretch in which he added a bit of everything to his stat sheet. "I just didn't know when it was going to happen,' said Dickerson on LaVell's run. "If we could have controlled them in that spurt in the second half, it could have been different at the end." Chattanooga never recovered from the 17-point deficit as it opened the inside lane to the Wolverines, allowing Michigan to find its big men for easy layups. It was also the first time this sea- son Michigan has outscored its opponent in the second half. The Mocs, on the other hand, were able to shut down freshman sharpshoot- er Gavin Groninger, who spurred Michigan's victory over Georgia Tech with six 3-pointers. "That's one guy that they have," Dickerson said. If the game is close, he can knock three or four down in a row and next thing you know, you're down 12 points and he hasn't even broke a sweat. When we trapped we didn't leave him. We made sure he didn't get open looks. But you turn around, and Blanchard knocks him down." Blanchard finished the game four-of- six from long range. But, while he and Gaines combined for 16-of-21 shooting, the other Wolverines shot just 35 percent. As for the Wolverines improving to 5- 0 and the possibility of going undefeated in the nonconference season, Ellerbe looks the other way. "1 think it's insignificant," Ellerbe said. "We have an awful lot of basketball to learn. We're more concerned about how we play. There are no gimmees in college basketball, we're not to the point where we can look over anyone." Wednesday KentnatMkdhgan, Crider Arny, 7-30 pm. This one is no gimme. The Golden Flashes made last year's NCAA Tournament and are favored to win the Mid-American Conference this season. Facing Kent just before Duke is a danger- ous situation for~the Wolverines. Saturday Duke at Michigan, Crisler Arena, 4 p.m Most likely, counting the number of total freshmen that start this contest will require two hands. Both squads are young and suf- fered huge roster losses from last season,. but that doesn't change the meaning of The Game. The few players on Duke's ros- ter that can remember the 1997 meeting know that the Wolverines stormed back from a 52-35 deficit to win. Revenge? Look forospedal Fmlky Focus on the McAgan-Duke matdxup i tis Fxidck'Doly tate blows out eekend foes EAST LANSING (AP) - Andre Hutson, selected MVP of urnament, scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half as No. 8 ichigan State opened a 21-point lead and cruised to a 74-57 ctory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday night in the final of e Spartan Classic. Morris Peterson added 16 points for the Spartans (6-1), who ranned un a three-victory week. Corey Tarrant scored 14 UNTIL DUKE. f' Duke 'banks' on freshman to top Deftul in overtime Freshman Nick Horvath might not have called 'glass', but it didn't matter for No.' 15 Duke as they topped No. 20 DePaul in overtime' at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 84- 83. Horvath banked a 3-pointer to give Duke the victory on the Blue Devils' last offensive play. All- Team f. Cincinnati 2. North Carolina 3. Stanford 4. Arizona 5. Auburn 6. Kansas 7. Michigan State 8. Connecticut 9. Temple 10 Flrida Rec 5-0 5-1 5-0 6-0 3-1 5-0 6-1 5-2 2-2 5-1 This weekend's results Beat Gonzaga 75-68 Beat UNLV 102-78 idle Beat Texas 88-81 Beat Florida St. 55-54 Beat Mid. Tenn. St. 97-77 Beat Eastern Mich. 74-57 Beat UNC-Asheville 98-68 Lost to Wake Forest 77-72 Beat Florida A&M 96-44 Conferen e Overal Team Michigan Minnesota Penn State Indiana Michigan State Wisconsin Ohio State Illinois Purdue W 0 0Q 0 0 0 0 0 0 L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 W _5 S 5 5b 4' 6 4 2 3 3. C 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 I