8 — Tuesday. November 13, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Matthews finding balance in style of play

For much of last season,
redshirt
junior
Charles
Matthews cast a frustrating
figure for the Michigan men’s
basketball team. The forward
combined elite defense and
athleticism with an inability to
score consistently, especially
outside the paint.
That version of Matthews
returned just seconds into
the Wolverines’ game against
Holy Cross on Saturday night.
Austin
Butler
spotted
up
for a seemingly uncontested
3-pointer on the Crusaders’
first
possession
before
Matthews
appeared
from
out of nowhere to deflect his
attempt out of bounds.
On the other end, it was
Matthews’ turn to be stymied
offensively. He attempted two
of Michigan’s three shots on
its first possession — both
from the right wing, both
uncontested and both rimming
out.
The rest of the half was an
unusual mix. He hit two threes
and a long two but missed six
field goals — all jump-shots —
as the Wolverines went into
halftime with just 18 points on
five-of-24 shooting.
“We’re gonna have games
like
that,”
Matthews
said.
“Especially early in the season,
we’re still learning how to play
with one another, we’re still
learning how to attack certain
defenses. So you can’t really
get down about missed shots
or anything like that. You just
gotta continue to play.”
Matthews matched his first
half point total after the break
to finish with 20 on the day,
but that was about the only
similarity between the halves
for Michigan. It outscored
Holy
Cross,
38-13,
in
the
second and upped its field goal
percentage to 50 on 13-for-26
shooting.
For
Matthews,
the

difference was obvious.
For all the attention he
receives as a player, Matthews
prefers to avoid it off the
court. He rarely goes off-script
in press conferences, often
stifling his voice to be barely
audible. Saturday evening was
much of the same — until a
reporter asked him to explain
the first-half struggles.
“We have a lot of athletes on
this team, we got a lot of people
that can put the ball on the
floor,” Matthews said. “Coach
is doing a great job coaching,
coming
up
with
offensive
schemes, but sometimes we
just gotta go.
“… And sometimes, I feel like
we can be indecisive looking
for the right time to score or the
right shot to take and we miss
shots cause we’re thinking, ‘Is
this the time to shoot it?’ When
we just hoop, we’re a different

dynamic. We don’t have Moe
and we don’t have Duncan, and
those are great players. But we
have players now that can put
the ball on the floor and try
to get to the basket, and I feel
like we need to play to those
strengths also.”
Getting downhill to the
hoop is clearly a winning
strategy for Matthews. Eight
of his 10 second-half points
came inside the paint, as did
all five of his field goals in the
opener against Norfolk State.
The
Wolverines’
reliance
on scoring inside makes them
different than any team that
coach John Beilein has ever
had at Michigan. And much of
that falls on Matthews.
“I feel like we have a team
full of hunters, but me and
Charles talk about it all the
time, how we both need to be
aggressive,”
said
freshman

forward Ignas Brazdeikis, who
finished just behind Matthews
with 19 points on Saturday.
“And we can play off of each
other as well.”
Added
Beilein:
“They’re
hunters and we just gotta
continue on them being guys
that shoot straight. I think
Charles was 3-for-9 at one time
and he’s gonna be better than
that.”
But
there’s
a
balance
to
playing
aggressively
in
Beilein’s offense.
“Not
putting
your
head
down and going — that gets
you subbed out,” Matthews
said. “But looking to attack and
staying aggressive.”
For an offense that lacks
natural
scorers
that
the
Wolverines
have
become
accustomed
to,
the
entire
season may rely on Matthews
finding that balance.

Hailey Brown’s road back

February
11,
2018.
Late
fourth quarter. Michigan State
64, Michigan 61.
As Wolverine center Hallie
Thome draws a charge on a
Spartan layup attempt, there’s
a collision under the basket.
Amidst
the
chaos,
Hailey
Brown falls to the floor and has
to be helped off the court.
It
would
be
her
final
appearance of the season.
Before
suffering
a
bone
bruise during that game, Brown
had started 27 consecutive
games and blossomed into one
of the team’s most consistent
contributors, averaging nine
points and 5.2 rebounds per
game. The injury forced Brown
to
watch
the
2018
NCAA
Tournament from the sidelines,
in which the Wolverines fell to
Baylor in the Round of 32.
“After I got the results from
the doctor of the bad knee
bone bruise, I couldn’t do
any running or impact stuff,”
Brown said. “…It was definitely
tough to watch my teammates
go out there and like live one of
the dreams and goals that I’ve

had.”
But despite this setback,
Brown persevered and fought
her way back over the course of
the offseason.
Early on in the recovery
process, Brown was still able
to lift weights, and eventually
transitioned
to
using
an
underwater
treadmill
to
stay in shape, which helped
to
alleviate
weight
when
exercising. Eventually, Brown
made a full recovery and played
in the Mount St. Mary’s game
on Nov. 8 — her first game since
the injury.
After tip off, Brown picked
up right where she left off in her
stellar freshman season. She
scored six of the Wolverines’
first 12 points and showed
tremendous hustle early with
two offensive rebounds on the
game’s first possession. She
finished with 12 points and
seven rebounds, a performance
made even more meaningful
with her family in attendance.
“It was definitely special,”
Brown noted.
“She’s worked so hard to
come back after being injured
last year, and she’s a really
special player,” added Michigan

coach Kim Barnes Arico.
While it was a long road
back to the court, Brown is
now focused on this season
and what the Wolverines can
achieve. She’s said that one of
her goals this year is to average
a double-double, which both
she and her coaches believe
is a task that she is more than
capable
of
accomplishing.
However, Brown’s priorities
are not solely on her individual
accolades, but more so on what
her team can achieve this
season.
“I want national recognition
for
Michigan
women’s
basketball this year,” Brown
said. “I want our team to go far
and stay up in the rankings.”
And after a season where
the team reached the NCAA
Tournament for the first time
since 2013, Brown feels that her
team can achieve even greater
feats this year.
“You always wanna achieve
more,” she said. “Every time,
every game, every moment
you’re on the court, you’re there
to prove something. Michigan
women’s basketball, we’re here,
we’re on a mission to prove that
we can be champions.”

‘M’ falls to Indiana in Big Ten final

In the 72nd minute of the
men’s soccer Big Ten Tournament
Championship match, Indiana’s
Griffin Dorsey sent a ball for
service across the box, finding
the head of the diving Hoosier
midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr, who
converted for the goal. The perfect
execution put the Hoosiers up
2-0, a goal Michigan coach Chaka
Daley said, “took the wind out of
(the Michigan soccer team’s) sails,”
as Daley’s team ultimately fell 3-0.
The
Big
Ten
Tournament
Championship has been unfamiliar
territory for the Wolverines as
of late. Michigan entered last
season’s Big Ten Tournament as
the highest-seeded team, boasting
a 6-1-1 conference record, yet fell,
4-0, in the semifinal to a fourth-
seeded Wisconsin team, who went
on to win the tournament.
This year’s Michigan team
avenged its loss to Wisconsin
in the semifinals Friday, but fell
victim to top-seeded Indiana in
the tournament championship on
Sunday.
Friday
night
against
the
Badgers, the Wolverines’ offense
got off to a quick start. Their first
opportunity came minutes into
the game. Junior forward Jack
Hallahan sent a ball in from the
corner to the head of the 6-foot-
5 sophomore defender Jackson
Ragen.
However,
Wisconsin’s
goalkeeper Dean Cowdroy was
there to save the would-be goal.
Michigan’s next corner kick, in
the 20th minute, was again sent
by Hallahan. The ball bounced
once in the box before hitting
a
Badgers’
defender’s
hand,
resulting in a penalty kick for the
Wolverines. Sophomore midfielder
Marc Ybarra lined up across from
the keeper with the opportunity
to give Michigan the lead in the
conference tournament semifinals.
“When you step up to a penalty
like that, you just keep your
composure,” Ybarra said, “Take a
deep breath and try to do what you
do at practice all the time.”
And Ybarra did just that. He
converted on the penalty kick,
putting the Wolverines up 1-0 and
in the driver’s seat for the rest of
the game. From there, Michigan’s

defense held firm. Of the four shots
taken by the Badgers, none were
on-goal. This made it an easy, clean
sheet for sophomore keeper Henry
Mashburn, as the Wolverines held
on to win, 1-0.
“In the last game we played them
… we were a little bit slow, a little bit
off,” said Daley on Friday, “But this
game, I think from start to finish
we were highly competitive and,
honestly, super motivated with the
opportunity to compete for a Big
Ten Championship on Sunday.”
And for the first time since 2012,
the Wolverines found themselves
in the Big Ten championship,
facing off against Indiana, who
welcomed back one of the nation’s
top players, freshman midfielder
Griffin Dorsey, for Sunday’s game.
Dorsey returned to the team after
representing the United States’
on U-20 CONCACAF national
team, missing the beginning of the
tournament.
“We had a good inclination that
if they could bring back their top
player, they would,” Daley said,
“To compete with us and contend
to win a Big Ten title, we thought
they would bring back their best
guy.”
And, as it turned out, Dorsey
proved to be all the difference. In
just the sixth minute of the game,
Dorsey rifled a shot off a rebound,
initially
saved
by
Mashburn,
but immediately converted off a
rebound by Indiana forward Cory

Thomas, giving Dorsey his first
assist of the game.
Michigan tried to answer back
quickly, but freshman forward
Umar Farouk Osman’s shot just a
minute later sailed over the goal
and out of play. From there, it was a
defensive battle, as Indiana ended
the half clinging to the 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Hoosiers’
offensive aggressiveness became
too much for the Wolverines, as
Gutjahr converted his header to
double to lead.
Exactly two minutes later,
Indiana
iced
the
game
and
ended
the
Wolverines’
hope
for a comeback when Hoosier
midfielder Spencer Glass snuck
the ball between the goalie and the
post, putting Indiana up 3-0.
Although it wasn’t the ideal
ending for Michigan’s tournament
run, there’s still plenty of soccer to
be played, as the selection for the
NCAA tournament awaits later
this week.
“I think we learned from
Indiana and their approach,”
Daley said, “The mentality today,
I thought was really good… just
staying on top of the game, being
sharp early in the game… we [have
to] treat it like a do-or-die situation,
but we’ve been doing that for a
month, so certainly it would be
no different if we were afforded
the opportunity to participate in
the NCAA Tournament moving
forward.”

Blankenburg uses forward
experience for first goal

Less than five minutes into the
third period on Saturday, Nick
Blankenburg received the puck
near the blue line.
The
freshman
defenseman
skated forward, looking for his
shot at the point. Instead, he
noticed that the lane straight
to the net was open — traffic
had cleared from the prior puck
movement.
So he took his chance and
skated straight to the crease. Left.
Right. Left. Right. He weaved the
puck back and forth before finding
the opening he was looking for —
a hole in between the Notre Dame
goaltender’s legs.
Goal, Michigan.
Generally,
when
a
player
scores his first
collegiate
goal,
the
player
remembers it. It’s
a milestone, after
all.
But
Blankenburg,
ironically,
remembered everything but.
“I
was
just
planning
on
shooting it,” Blankenburg said.
“But then I saw a lane open, and I
kinda just blacked out right when
it happened.”
It was a stylish goal, to say the
least. And the inspiration comes
from Blankenburg’s time as a
forward, a position he had played
his entire life before his time with
the Okotoks Oilers, his team prior
to Michigan.
“You can tell he’s got some
patience and some poise,” said
Michigan coach Mel Pearson,
“and some quickness, can skate,
he’s a converted forward, so he
goes in and makes it look easy.”
On his first goal, Blankenburg
not only made it easy, but
showcased the versatility that he
adds to the offensive zone.

“Hopefully that gives even
more confidence,” Pearson said.
“He’s been playing extremely well
for us, and he’s got some offensive
capabilities, and that gives us
another option on the blue line
that can create some offense from
the backend.”
Blankenburg
doesn’t
have
much experience as a defenseman
under his belt. Seventy games
at the blue line is nothing in
comparison with many of the
players he’s competing against.
And he’s quick to admit that he
doesn’t fully know all the in and
outs of the position yet.
But the reason he’s able to hold
his own is his confidence as a
skater.
“I
just
feel
like the biggest
thing is skating-
wise,
being
a
defenseman,”
Blankenburg
said. “It helps
out so much, if I
make a mistake,
I can kinda back
that
up
with
my skating, just
throughout this
year.
“I mean, everyone can skate,
especially at this level, so I just
kinda play smart and use my speed
to my advantage against the other
guys, so that was nice to have that
as a forward, and being able to
transition that as a defenseman is
nice.”
His speed was certainly put
to use for his first goal. Once he
reached the lane, no player was
fast enough to clog it with traffic
or put a man in his path to prevent
the shot.
“And I feel like it’s really
important being up at the blue
line, and using my speed to be
open and to get shots through
from the point to be able to beat
guys and get through to those
shooting
lanes,”
Blankenburg
said.

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Sophomore forward Hailey Brown played against Mt. St. Mary’s on Friday, her first game since being injured last season.

DREW BARLAGE
For the Daily

PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily
Sophomore midfielder Marc Ybarra scored Friday’s game-winning goal.

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Redshirt junior forward Charles Matthews scored 20 points in Michigan’s 56-37 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.

“He’s been
playing
extremely well
for us...”

ICE HOCKEY