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.