The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam
Friday, November 21, 2014 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, November 21, 2014 - 7A
Wolverines survive Detroit
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Bogged down by a ,sloppy
start, the Michigan men's
basketball team found itself tied
with Detroit, 52-52, with just five
minutes to play.
The Titans had just chipped
away a nine-point Wolverine
lead on the back of guard Juwan
Howard
Jr.-sonof DETROIT 62
Michigan MICHIGAN 71
great and
Fab Five member Juwan Howard
- and were in position to make a
late push for an upset.
But the Wolverines simply
wouldn'tlet ithappen.
Michigan's "big three" -
junior guard Caris LeVert,
sophomore forward Zak
Irvin and sophomore guard
Derrick Walton Jr. - put up 16
of Michigan's final 19 points
down the stretch to put away
Detroit, 71-62.
LeVert led Michigan (3-0)
with 21 points, nine rebounds
and three assists, and Howard
led all scorers with 24 points.
Coming off a sluggish start
in the first half, LeVert and
company made their presence
felt after the break behind 17
second-half points from the
junior captain, who scored 10
straight to give Michigan a 43-34
lead and allthe momentum.
"I got an easy layup in
transition, and I felt my rhythm
coming back a little bit," LeVert
said. "I took it upon myself
to be a little more aggressive.
The coaches put the ball in my
hands and had a great deal of
confidence in me. I just wanted
to come through for the team."
The Wolverine run started
when Irvin and redshirt
freshman forward Mark Donnal
forced a turnover on a trap
behind the arc, and while Irvin
missed the transition 3-pointer,
TERESA MATHEW/
Junior guard Caris LeVertescored a team-high 21 points as the Wolverines pulled away late to beat Detroit, 71-62.
the increased energy on defense
made a noticeable difference.
Donnal added a block on the
next Detroit possession, and
LeVert took a steal coast-tp-coast
for a lay-in two minutes later to
give the Wolverines a 35-34 lead
that they would relinquish only
momentarily on Howard's and-1
layup to tie the game.
Over the course of LeVert's
takeover, the Michigan defense
held Detroit without a point for
six minutes.
"That was something
definitely, at halftime, that was
an adjustment we wanted to
make," Irvin said. "Just heat 'em
up a little bit. When our defense
turns into our offense, we're
pretty good."
In the first half, though,
Michigan showed no reason to
believe anoffensive outburst was
coming.
The Wolverines started
slowly and didn't break out of
it until the half's final minutes,
ultimately shooting just 10-for-
29 from the floor and 3-for-12 on
3-pointers in the first half Still,
midway through the frame, they
found themselves up by a bucket
despite their sloppy play.
Even Irvin, usually a sure-
handed shooter, wasn't able to
get going initially, starting 1-for-
8 from the field.
"Wereallyjustweren'tmaking
shots," Irvin said. "We got sped
up a little bit with the way they
were playing defensively.
"We figured we were going
to see that - pressuring the ball
a lot, (trying to) take away our
offense. We've just to stay poised
and stay in the flow of our game
and not get sped up."
Irvin sank two triples to give
the Wolverines a lead late in the
first, buta put-back jumper atithe
buzzer by Detroit guard Anton
Wilson sent the Titans into the
breakup a point, 28-27.
Riding some carry-over
momentum, the Titans came out
firing the second frame, putting
up six points in the first minute-
and-a-half But once Michigan
turned up its defensive intensity
and LeVert got going, the Titans
had to rely on Howard to keep
them in it.
And for a while, he did, but
the - Wolverines quieted the
Detroit comeback with a decisive
11-point run on the shoulders of
their big three.
LeVert, Irvin and Walton
combined for 45 of the team's 71
total points.
After his slow start, Irvin
finished with 18 points on 4-for-
10 shooting from three, while
Walton posted six boards to
accompany his 16 points.
But ultimately, it was LeVert's
takeover that swung the game
for Michigan.
"He's one of those guys
that's multi-dimensional," said
Michigan coach John Beilein.
"He's so quickand he can get into
the paint.... That was big for us."
The Michigan women's basketball team was blown out in its first road game.
Red-hot Pittsburgh
offn se owns 'M
By JACOB GASE opening run left the Wolverines
Daily Sports Writer battling a double-digit deficit
for the majority of the game.
In its first two games, the Even Michigan's second-half
Michigan women's basketball surge was snuffed out when the
team has struggled to rebound Panthers responded with a 15-4
the ball but stretch.
has escaped MICHIGAN 64 On the other side of the
with two PITTSBURGH 85 court, Pittsburgh did most of
victories by its damage from beyond the arc.
outshooting its opponents. Point guard Brianna Kiesel led
In the Wolverines' first road the team with 27 points and six
game of the season against 3-pointers, while guard Fred
Pittsburgh,the scriptcompletely Potvin came off the bench to
flipped, deliver five
Led by 3-point
senior forward daggers of
Cyesha Goree's "It was like they her own,
16 boards, burying the
Michigan hit a dagger three, Wolverines
dominated in the second
the glass, then easily followed half.
outrebounding ,,'The
the Panthers, up with another. Wolverines'
45-29. shooters
But the went
offensive battle
Michigan opens BIG play vs. Penn St.
First meeting since
Nittany Lions
ended Wolverines'
season in 2013-14
By JEREMY SUMMIT
Daily Sports Editor
This weekend is personal for
the Michigan hockey team.
The Wolverines (4-5) will
open Big Ten play with a bitter
taste in their mouths when
they host Penn State (6-2-2)
for a weekend series. While
Michigan hasn't had the start
it would've liked to begin the
2014-15 campaign, the ending
of last season was far more
tormenting.
The simple utterance of
'Penn State' might still haunt
some Wolverine fans after the
Nittany Lions, who won, 2-1, in
a double-overtime loss against
Penn State in the inaugural Big
Ten Tournament. The loss left
multiple Wolverines with tears
in their eyes.
"That was a tough loss for
our team," said junior forward
Andrew Copp. "If we win that
game, we're in the (NCAA) A fresh season doesn't
tournament. There's some help erase the melancholic
shoulda, coulda, woulda in our memories, though. And now,
minds leaving that rink.... A lot these two teams are poised to
of guys in that room remember meet while trendingin opposing
that feeling." directions. It would have been
All signs point toward a hard to predict the Nittany
hostile meeting between these Lions would be atop the Big
two conference foes, especially Ten Standings while Michigan
after the Nittany Lions, in their lingers near the bottom as it
first-ever season as a Division-I stands now.
hockey program, were This weekend will determine
surprisingly whether
the ones that Penn State's
owned the "W e know a lot success is
Wolverines. legitimate
Penn State more about them and whether
had just four Michigan's
conference now that we did funk is a
wins all year, thing of the
but three of a year ago." past.
those came The
against Wolverines
Michigan. are coming
"That doesn't go forgotten," off a weekend sweep of lowly
Berenson said. "They were a American International in
hard team to play against. They which defensive concerns
probably had their best games continued to run prevalent.
against us, and we're a team The Yellow Jackets scored five
that has to bounce back. We total goals over the weekend
know alot more about themnow despite averaging just 2.30 per
than we did a year ago. We're a game all season. Michigan's
different team, and we've got to blue line corps is far from elite,
be a better team than we were and that's a cause for concern
last year." when it will face off against the
Nittany Lions.
"We saw some breakdowns
last weekend where we weren't
as detail-oriented as we need
to be," Berenson said. "Maybe
because we had the lead, but
regardless we've got to play
better defensively. We can't be
giving up three goals a game
and expect to win."
Penn State ranks among the
nation's best in goals scored
with a hefty average of 3.80
per game. It boasts the nation's
leading scorer in forward
Taylor Holstrom, too, who has
16 points thus far with three
goals and 13 assists.
But if Michigan's blue
liners aren't able to stymie the
Nittany Lions' potent attack,
there might be one man who
can. Sophomore goaltender
Zach Nagelvoort picked up his
first two wins of the season
in net last weekend, and with
that came some much-needed
confidence. Most importantly,
he has a respectable track
record against Penn State.
In the same heartbreaking
loss to the Nittany Lions last
year, Nagelvoort set a school
record for saves in a single
game.
The Holland native stopped
63 of 65 shots in a remarkable
outing when the defense in
front of him couldn't do much
to keep opposing shot attempts
off target.
"(The game) was
disappointing," Nagelvoort said.
"There were a lot of guys that
played really well in that game.
... No one was giving anything
up easy, so it was good but at the
end of the day they came out on
top, and I don't think our guys
are going to forget that.
"I think that's going to be
something that will be fueling
us for not just this game, but
every time we play them this
year."
But this Penn State squad
isn't the same one that broke the
Michigan players' hearts last
season. They're much improved,
which will mean an even larger
uphill battle for each Wolverine
that wants to fulfill the sweet
feeling of revenge.
was a different story.
Despite having four players
in double figures for the third-
straight game, the Wolverines
(2-1) shot just 38 percent from
the field. Pittsburgh (2-1), on the
other hand, knocked down over
half of its shots - including 13,
of 26 3-pointers - en route to an,
85-64 victory.
"(The Panthers) definitely
shot the ball really well," said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. "Every time we did make
arun, itwasliketheyhitadagger
three, and then easily followed it
up with another three."
Though they won the war in
the paint, frequent turnovers
prevented the Wolverines from
getting momentum, save for a
9-0 burst to start the second
half. Freshman guard Katelynn
Flaherty had six turnovers
despite her 13 points, and Goree
had five before she turned up her
game in the second half. Overall,
the Panthers picked up 31 points
off of turnovers.
"If we took care of the
ball a little more, coming in
and winning the rebounding
battle, it would've been a
different ballgame," Goree said.
"(Progress) comes from taking
care of the ball, making smart
decisions, being disciplined."
Pittsburgh's offense came
out strong from the get-go, and
Michigan simply couldn't match
its energy level. A quick 17-7
uncharacteristically cold, which
prevented them from getting
back into the game. Sophomore
guard Siera Thompson went
0-for-6 from the floor, snapping
her record streak of 36 straight
games with a 3-pointer to start
her career. Flaherty threw upt
17 snots, but only yfive fund the
net.
Senior guard Shannon Smith
scored a team-high 17 points,
and junior Madison Ristovski
added 11 off the bench, but
neither could energize an
offense that came out flat from
the start.
"I hope that's something
our younger kids will really
see," Barnes Arico said. "You
can't go on the road (and win
easily), especially when a team
is coming off a loss and not
shooting the ball very well and
playing at home. (The Panthers)
had their crowd, they had their
energy and they really came out
of the gates. They had a lot of
confidence."
As the Wolverines head back
home to face Western Michigan
on Sunday, Barnes Arico said
they will look to increase their
effort and intensity to avoid a
repeat performance.
"It's a wake-up call, not only
for the freshman but for us
seniors as well," Goree said.
"We've got to put everything
together or it's going to be a long
ride."
JAMESCOLLER/Daily
Zach Nagelvoort made 63 saves against the Nittany Lions in the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, but the Wolverines lost, 2-1.