The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
November 28, 2016 — 3B

Michigan beats Mount St. Mary’s

No 
matter 
how 
intricate 

a team’s offense may be — 
and John Beilein’s scheme is 
certainly 
among 
the 
most 

complex 
— the system can only work if 
players are making shots.

So when No. 25 Michigan 

shot just 19.2 percent from the 
field against South Carolina on 
Wednesday, including a dismal 
7.7 percent from behind the 
arc, the offense could only be 
described as sluggish.

That certainly wasn’t the 

case early Saturday night, when 
the Wolverines returned to 
Crisler Center to beat Mount St. 
Mary’s, 64-47.

Michigan (5-1) got off to a 

blistering start — shooting 7-15 
on 3-pointers and 43.3 percent 
on all field goals — to stake 
themselves with a comfortable 
lead after a slow defensive start.

“It was huge,” said senior 

guard Zak Irvin. “After how 
poorly we shot the ball in South 
Carolina, we definitely wanted 
to come out and set the tone. 
Big bounce-back game for us, 
so it was nice to see the first 
three of my shots go in. It was a 
good feeling.”

The Mountaineers, led by 

nine early points from 5-foot-5 
guard Junior Robinson, took an 
early 12-8 lead in the first half.

But 
then 
junior 
guard 

Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-

Rahkman 
knocked 
down 
a 

3-pointer, 
senior 
forward 

Duncan Robinson hit a midrange 
jumper and senior guard Derrick 
Walton Jr. drained another 3 to 
give Michigan a lead it would 
not relinquish for the rest of the 
night.

The Wolverines ended the 

first half on a 25-4 run that 
was capped off by a personal 

seven-point spurt from Moritz 
Wagner, 
during 
which 
the 

sophomore forward’s offensive 
arsenal was on full display. 
Wagner drained 3-pointers with 
ease and took defenders off the 
dribble, creating 
hesitation 
with 

an 
array 
of 

pump-fakes and 
jab steps.

After 
the 

Mountaineers 
opened up the 
second half with 
a quick 6-2 run 
to cut Michigan’s 
lead to 12, the 
Wolverines 
responded 
in 
kind 
off 
the 

strength of three more 3-pointers 
from Robinson and redshirt 
sophomore forward DJ Wilson.

The 
improved 
shooting 

was 
even 
more 
impressive 

considering Mount St. Mary’s 
entered the game allowing its 
opponents to make just 29.9 of 
their long-range attempts.

While Michigan shot well 

throughout 
the 
game, 

finishing with a 
43.6 
field-goal 

percentage and 
a 40.7 3-point 
percentage, 
the 
Wolverines 

struggled 
with 

turnovers. 
A 

sloppy 
few 

minutes toward 
the end of the 

game saw Mount St. Mary’s cut 
Michigan’s lead to just eight, 
bringing the Mountaineer bench 
to life.

But Irvin, who finished with 

14 points, stemmed the tide 
with a mid-range jumper from 
the elbow that seemed to snap 
his team out of its funk, and 
Michigan finished the game on 
an 11-2 run.

“(Mount St. Mary’s) fought 

hard,” Irvin said. “They cut 
it back to, I think it was eight 
points, with four or five minutes 
to go, so for us to end it on an 
11-2 run is huge. We always talk 
about finishing strong, and I was 
glad to play a part in that.”

Added Beilein: “We have a 

big game with Virginia Tech on 
Wednesday. We get a day to rest. 
For us to travel to South Carolina 
... (we) learned some valuable 
lessons from that game. And 
then to have this challenge right 
now, it was a bigger challenge 
than anyone would think, so 
we’ll take the ‘W.’ ”

ICE HOCKEY
Michigan salvages 
series split at Yost

Freshman 
forward 
James 

Sanchez’s 
goal 
came 
out 
of 

nowhere. One second, everyone 
was 
watching 
two 
Lake 

Superior State players pass the 
puck. The next, Sanchez had 
taken the puck from the pass and 
shot it into the Lakers’ net for the 
Wolverines’ third goal of the night.

This goal led to No. 16 Michigan 

avenging a 3-1 loss to Lake 
Superior State (7-6-0) on Friday. 
The Wolverines (5-5-1) turned the 
tables on the Lakers, cruising to a 
4-1 victory Saturday.

The contrast between the first 

period of both games couldn’t 
have been stronger. Where the 
Lakers outshot the Wolverines on 
Friday (8-6), Michigan dominated 
the first period Saturday, 12-5. 
Friday, it took the Wolverines 
the entire first period to get into 
motion, but Saturday, it only took 
them four minutes to score their 
first goal.

One of the similarities between 

the two games, though, came 
from who scored that goal. 
Junior forward Tony Calderone 
scored both first goals — this 
time, though, the goal came four 
minutes into the first period, when 
a knot of Lakers and Wolverines 
formed in front of Lake Superior 
State’s goal. Calderone managed 
to push the puck into the net to 
put the Wolverines up, 1-0.

“Obviously, we lost a lot of 

scoring (last year), so someone’s 
gotta step up,” Calderone said. 
“I’m just trying to do my best to 
fill the role, but I know (those) 
are pretty big shoes to fill, but I’m 
trying my best and we’ll see how 
it goes.”

However, Laker forward C.J. 

Hayes canceled out Calderone’s 
goal with one of his own at the 

15:17 
mark. 
Diego 
Cuglietta 

brought the puck down the ice 
and close to the net on senior 
goaltender 
Zach 
Nagelvoort’s 

right, and passed it to Hayes on 
Nagelvoort’s left at the last minute 
to score the goal.

The second period featured 

the same intensity as the first, 
with no break from either team. 
Junior defenseman Sam Piazza 
attempted a goal with a clean shot 
directly in front of the net, but 
Lake Superior State goaltender 
Gordon Defiel denied it with his 
arm. Laker forward J.T. Henke 
came close to a goal as he wrapped 
behind Michigan’s goal to tuck 
the puck into the net, but overshot 
it in front of Nagelvoort instead.

It was finally senior defenseman 

Nolan De Jong who was able to 
break the tie off an assist from 
sophomore 
forward 
Brendan 

Warren. Warren snagged the puck 
and passed it to De Jong, who 
managed a clean shot directly past 
Defiel to push the Wolverines to 
2-1 at the 9:16 mark.

Lake Superior State attempted 

to close the gap multiple times 
throughout the remainder of 
the second period, but with no 
luck. Laker forward Jake Hand 
brought the puck close to the net, 
but Nagelvoort made a quick glove 
save to keep the Wolverines’ one-
goal advantage headed into the 
third period.

Like Friday, Saturday’s game 

boiled down to the final period. 
But this time, it favored Michigan.

Sanchez’s goal pushed the 

Wolverines to a two-goal lead, one 
that the Lakers couldn’t break. 
Sophomore defenseman Nicholas 
Boka also managed to replicate 
the Lakers’ empty-net goal Friday, 
as he scored one with 49 seconds 
remaining in the game. And with 
no additional goals from the 
Lakers, the Wolverines switched 
places with Lake Superior State to 
claim a 4-1 victory.

LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Writer

LSSU
MICHIGAN 

1
4

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Senior forward Zak Irvin scored 14 points and added four assists in Michigan’s win against Mount St. Mary’s.

Wolverines use first-half run to coast to victory, rebound from Wednesday loss

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Writer

“We definitely 

wanted to 

come out and 
set the tone.”

MSM
MICHIGAN 

47
64

Wolverines finish 2-1 in Paradise Jam

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team has made its 
mark in the record book early 
this season, scoring over 100 
points in three straight games 
for the first time and going on 
a jaw-dropping 52-point run 
against Howard.

But this weekend at the 

Paradise Jam in the Virgin 
Islands, the Wolverines finally 
met their match. They swept 
past 
No. 
25 
Gonzaga 
and 

Winthrop at the beginning of 
the tournament, and ended 
with their biggest game of the 
season thus far against No. 10 
Florida State.

Michigan couldn’t advance 

its winning streak to seven 
games, falling to the Seminoles, 
76-62, in the Wolverines’ third 
game of the weekend.

“I definitely thought that we 

got worn down a little bit,” said 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico. “We played against a 
really great team, and for a long 
period of time we were really 
even with them.”

Early in the game, Michigan 

went down, 8-2, and spent the 
remaining seven minutes of 
the first period playing catch-
up. The Wolverines spread the 
scoring out, with freshman 
guard 
Kysre 
Gondrezick 

coming off the bench at the 
5:11 mark and contributing five 
points. After the first quarter, 
Michigan trailed by only one.

In 
the 
second 
quarter, 

Michigan earned its first lead of 
the game thanks to a 3-pointer 
and jumper by junior guard 
Katelynn Flaherty, but wasn’t 
able to maintain it. Florida 
State’s scoring was relentless, 
and by halftime, the Wolverines 
were once again down, 32-28.

Then, 15 second-half fouls 

killed Michigan’s momentum. 
The 
Seminoles 
never 
gave 

up the lead, despite double-
digit efforts from Flaherty (18 

points), Gondrezick (17) and 
sophomore 
forward 
Hallie 

Thome (13).

“They’re a top-10 team, so 

they’re used to having these 
games,” Thome said. “They’re 
able to handle themselves and 
all the pressure and not freak 
out. Towards the end, unlike 
Gonzaga, 
when 
we 
played 

them we were able to handle 
ourselves and play with ease. 
I think for Florida State, we 
kind of just let it go. It could’ve 
been because we were mentally 
fatigued, so instead of just being 
on point with everything we 
kind of got a little freaked out.”

Added Flaherty: “Coming out 

of that game we need to work 
on a lot of things. Especially 
defense, 
not 

fouling so much 
towards 
the 

end, and then 
offensively, 
executing plays, 
not having as 
many turnovers. 
Those 
helped 

their tempo of 
the game.”

While 
the 

Wolverines’ 
first loss wasn’t how they 
would’ve liked to end the 
tournament, there were still 
plenty of positives throughout 
the 
weekend. 
Thome 
and 

Flaherty were both named to 
the all-tournament team, and 
Michigan notched its first win 
against a top-25 team since 
2014.

Friday vs. Winthrop (1-6): 

Friday’s game against Winthrop 
could 
have 
been 
another 

opportunity for Michigan to hit 
the century mark. Instead, the 
Wolverines fell 24 points shy 
of that number, but still won, 
76-39. Even with the impressive 
margin, Barnes Arico was still 
not satisfied.

 “We couldn’t get going,” 

Barnes Arico said. “It took us 
definitely that first quarter to 
get going. I thought our second 

team really came in and gave us 
that energy and that burst that 
we needed.”

Michigan went deep into 

the bench, allowing all four 
freshmen 
onto 
the 
court. 

Munger 
and 
Brozoski 
also 

played, with 22 and 21 minutes, 
respectively. 
Munger 
scored 

11 points, breaking into double 
digits to join Thome, who had 
12, and Flaherty, who scored 17.

Despite their strong scoring, 

the 
Wolverines 
weren’t 

performing at their peak.

“We 
talked 
about 
it 
at 

halftime,” Barnes Arico said. 
“We were short … everyone 
besides Hallie on all of their 
shots. But I didn’t mind that 
as much as I minded our 

energy and our 
turnovers. 
We 

talked 
about 

turnovers, 
we 

wanted to hold 
it to six and 
we had 11, and 
we said in the 
second half we 
wanted to try 
to keep it under 
five. And I think 
we did.”

Thursday vs. No. 25 Gonzaga 

(4-2): Going into Thursday’s 
game, the Wolverines were 
facing their first ranked team 
of the season after a long flight. 
Still, they came out on top, 
beating the Bullldogs, 78-66.

Michigan has struggled in 

the first few minutes of play 
in its last two home games, 
going 
down 
6-0 
against 

both Western Michigan and 
Howard. But against Gonzaga, 
the 
Wolverines 
showed 
up 

to play. After two minutes, 
Michigan was up 9-2, thanks to 
five points from Flaherty, two 
from Thome and two more from 
senior guard Danielle Williams.

Those three got the ball 

rolling 
for 
the 
Wolverines, 

and they never let up, leading 
the game for the entire 40 
minutes. Flaherty went off in 

the first half, tallying 17 points 
and ending the game with a 
team-high 22 points. She also 
tacked on seven assists to tie 
her career high. Senior guard 
Siera Thompson ran the court 
as well, scoring 21 points and 
going 5-for-6 on 3-pointers. She 
now has more 3-pointers than 
any Wolverine in history.

The closest Gonzaga came 

to taking the lead was in the 
fourth quarter, when Michigan 
led by just four points.

“We had a lot of games like 

last year that came down to 
the final minutes,” Thome 
said. “And this year we were 
able to beat the stats and just 
push through it. … It was just 
exciting to see that we were 
able to finish games when it 
came down to the last final 
minutes.”

While 
Thompson 
and 

Flaherty show up in the box 
score as the difference makers, 
the players coming off the 
bench were a huge factor in the 
Wolverines’ win.

“I 
think 
(sophomore 

guard Boogie Brozoski) and 
(sophomore 
guard 
Nicole 

Munger) 
really 
stood 
out, 

especially 
the 
first 
game,” 

Flaherty said. “Munger hit a big 
3 in the corner and had a charge. 
Boogie has just been a great 
spark off the bench, she knows 
how to control the game and get 
everyone involved. I think she 
brings a swag to our team and 
makes us a lot tougher.”

The road trips aren’t coming 

to an end, either.

Coming off of the weekend, 

Michigan 
will 
practice 
for 

three days before jetting off to 
face Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

“We’re going to take it game 

by game,” Thome said. “We’re 
going to be road warriors and 
just do what we usually do. … It 
doesn’t matter what gym we’re 
in or how many hours we’ve been 
on flights. It’s definitely a fun 
experience, but it is a tiring one, 
and I think we’re ready for it.”

Michigan tops No. 25 Gonzaga and Winthrop, then falls to No. 10 Florida State

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

“It’s definitely a 
fun experience, 

but it is a 
tiring one.”

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

THE MICHIGAN 

DAILY TOP-10 POLL 

2. OHIO STATE: He was short.
1. ALABAMA: Led by Jalen 
“The Truth” Hurts, Nick 
Saban’s team could win its 
first national title since earlier 
this year.

9. PENN STATE: There’s 
going to be a mercy rule if the 
Nittany Lions matchup with 
Alabama in the CFP, right?

3. CLEMSON: What Dabo 
Swinney did to the Cocks was 
certainly not Christian.

6. WISCONSIN: As Ric Flair 
once said, “To be the man, 
you’ve gotta beat the man. 
Unless you’re Wisconsin.”

5. MICHIGAN: Harbaugh: 
Keep it cool. Inner Harbaugh: 
Shatter the headset into a 
million pieces.

7. COLORADO: A win by the 
Buffs could send the Daily 
football beat to Pasadena. No 
pressure, though.

4. WASHINGTON: OK, but if 
they lose...

8. OKLAHOMA: Dede 
Westbrook isn’t the Heisman 
winner we need, but he’s the 
one we deserve.

10. WESTERN MICHIGAN: P.J. 
Fleck will row his boat all the 
way to Tampa if it means the 
CFP committee will finally 
acknowledge his team.

Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with 
first-place votes receiving 10 points, second-place 

votes receiving nine and so on. 

