The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
November 19, 2018 — 3B

Michigan wins Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament

UNCASVILLE, 
Conn. 
— 
The first half of Sunday’s 
game started and ended the 
same way: junior center Jon 
Teske catching Providence’s 
defense napping and throwing 
down an easy dunk.
That set the tone for the rest 
of the game. Though it was 
close at the beginning, the No. 
18 Michigan men’s basketball 
team 
(5-0 
overall) 
took 
control and never relented in a 
66-47 win over the Friars (3-2) 
in the championship game 
of the Hall of Fame Tip-off 
Tournament.
The Wolverines got out to an 
early lead after Teske’s dunk. 
Twice, 
freshman 
forward 
Ignas 
Brazdeikis 
received 
long passes from junior guard 
Zavier Simpson and dunked 
them in on the fast break. The 
second time, he hung on the 
rim for a few seconds, savoring 
the moment as he let the ball 
roll down his body.
Providence 
temporarily 
grabbed the momentum with a 
6-0 run, punctuated by a deep 
3-pointer from Maliek White, 
to cut the Wolverines’ lead to 
21-20. But that was the closest 
the Friars got.
On the following possession, 
Teske hit a pick-
and-pop 
three 
— the first of 
his career — to 
keep 
Michigan 
in the lead with 
3:49 remaining 
in 
the 
half. 
From 
there, 
the Wolverines 
capped 
off 
a 
14-2 run with 
Teske’s 
second 
dunk to extend the lead to 
35-22 at halftime.
“At the end of the first 
half, we just wanted to come 
to the locker room excited 
and ready for the second 
half,” Brazdeikis said. “They 
went on their run, I feel like 

towards the end of that first 
half, so then we just bounced 
back.”
Both teams played chippy 
— combining for four fouls in 
the first two minutes of the 
second 
half. 
Providence 
was 
able 
to 
take advantage 
early 
in 
the 
second half by 
grabbing extra 
possession, 
but sophomore 
forward Isaiah 
Livers 
made 
back-to-back 
3-pointers 
to 
keep 
Michigan’s 
lead 
comfortable.
And the Wolverines’ stifling 
defense helped extinguish any 
hope of a comeback. The Friars 
shot just 28.1 percent on field 
goals, while Michigan grabbed 
28 defensive rebounds.

Michigan ran its offense 
through Brazdeikis and Teske 
— who finished with 20 and 
17 points, respectively. The 
rest of the team struggled to 
score, which ultimately kept 
the game from 
being a blowout. 
Simpson 
and 
redshirt 
junior 
Charles 
Matthews — both 
of whom scored 
in double digits 
Saturday — failed 
to get anything 
going offensively, 
combining 
for 
just 
11 
points. 
But even when that happened, 
Teske and Brazdeikis were 
there to grab a board or tip 
the ball in off the glass — and 
that was when they weren’t 
dunking. 
Teske 
had 
three 
dunks and Brazdeikis, two.
With their flashy moves and 

an assist from the defense, the 
outcome was never in doubt.
“Everyone can play on our 
team. It’s not gonna be one 
person that’s gonna be the best 
player on the court every day,” 
Brazdeikis 
said. 
“It’s 
gonna be, one 
day (Simpson), 
one day Jon, 
one 
day 
Charles 
and 
it 
always 
switches 
cause we all 
split the ball, 
so 
it’s 
just 
about 
being 
effective in other ways, and 
our team is just so talented 
that we all just click.”
Added Michigan coach John 
Beilein: “That’s always gonna 
be our mindset going in. We’re 
gonna take what people give 
us.”

Wolverines set to 
face Detroit Mercy

Just two weeks into the season, 
the Michigan women’s basketball 
team (2-0) already has two 
dominant performances under 
its belt. First, the Wolverines 
dismantled Mount St. Mary’s, 
88-40, in the season opener. And 
last Thursday, they cruised past 
Western Michigan, 79-42.
There’s no reason to expect 
anything different to happen 
Monday night, when Michigan 
faces Detroit Mercy (1-3) at Crisler 
Center.
Last season, the Titans finished 
with an abysmal 2-28 record. 
They are currently on a three-
game losing streak, and on paper, 
they don’t match up well against 
the Wolverines.
Detroit Mercy has just two 
players at or over six-feet tall, 
and only one of them — six-foot 
forward Paige Bellman — gets 
meaningful playing time. On 
the other hand, Michigan has 
11 players in the six-foot club — 
including 6-foot-5 senior center 
Hallie Thome.
She has been the Wolverines 
go-to player so far, leading the 
team with 19.5 points and 9.5 
rebounds per contest. Both of 
Michigan’s opponents so far have 
lacked comparable height, thus 
allowing Thome to control the 
paint.
Because 
of 
her 
height 
advantage, Thome often draws 
double teams. But so far, she has 
used solid footwork to weave 
around this. She should have no 
trouble finding the basket come 
Monday, as the Titans don’t seem 
to have a logical answer for her.
With 
their 
length, 
the 
Wolverines have been successful 
under 
the 
glass. 
They’ve 
outrebounded opposing teams 
106 to 46 and could widen the gap 
against Detroit Mercy.
“I think that’s been a difference-

maker kind of our last couple 
games,” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico to WTKA on 
Thursday. “And we talked about 
that a lot coming into tonight.”
When these two schools met 
last season, the Titans initially 
kept it interesting. Early in the 
opening quarter, they drained 
four three-pointers in a row 
to get a head start. And a few 
possessions later, they converted 
another triple to take a 10-point 
lead.
The Wolverines fought back, 
though, tying the game at 20 
by the end of the first frame. 
Michigan 
then 
pulled 
away 
quickly, notching an 86-50 victory.
Detroit Mercy no longer has 
forward Brianne Cohen or guards 
Anja Marinkovic and Nicole 
Urbanick — its three leading 
scorers from last year. Cohen 
and Urbanick were both seniors 
last 
season, 
and 
Marinkovic 
transferred to play at Florida Gulf 
Coast.
Now, forward Lexey Tobel 
leads the Titans with 13 points 
a game. In last year’s meeting, 
she scored a team-high 14 points. 
Bellman is their best rebounder, 
grabbing 7.8 boards per game. She 
also has the most steals and is tied 
for the most blocks, with a total of 
11 and six, respectively.
This will be the Wolverines’ 
sixth time facing Detroit Mercy 
under Barnes Arico. She won the 
last five and will likely win again 
on Monday.
Regardless of the probable 
mismatch, the contest should 
allow Michigan to fine-tune its 
play and work out any remaining 
kinks before the season picks 
up pace. The weekend after 
Thanksgiving, the Wolverines 
will head to Estero, Fla. for the 
Gulf Coast Showcase.
It will also give Michigan a 
chance to further implement its 
depth, which has been a focal 
point this season.

Wolverines lose to Penn State in overtime, 7-6

STATE COLLEGE — A thrilling 
comeback on back-to-back nights 
seemed too good to be true for the 
Michigan hockey team. But what 
ensued on Saturday was thrilling 
nonetheless.
After roaring back from a deficit 
in the third period for the second 
night in a row, the 16th-ranked 
Wolverines could not finish the 
job, falling to No. 5 Penn State in 
overtime, 7-6.
The scoring got off to a quick 
start on the second night of the 
series between the teams.
Sophomore defenseman Quinn 
Hughes was penalized for hooking 
just 0:38 into the game, sending 
the Nittany Lions to an early power 
play.
And less than one minute into the 
one-man advantage, forward Evan 
Barratt got Penn State out to an 
early 1-0 lead. Forward Liam Folkes 
skated up the left wing and passed 
across to Barratt who was set up 
in the slot just outside of the right 
faceoff circle. The duo got freshman 
goaltender Strauss Mann moving 
from right to left in the crease, and 
Barratt slotted the puck out of his 
reach to his left.
Just two minutes later, the 
Nittany Lions struck again.
Forward Aarne Talvitie streaked 
down left wing, shot to the far side 
and into the top right corner of 
the net past the glove of Mann to 
extend the lead to 2-0. With that 
goal, Penn State had struck twine 
on their first two shots of the night. 
After coming up with several big 
stops on Friday, Mann had earned 
his first back-to-back starts and was 
showing signs of struggle, while the 
Michigan defense failed pounce on 
50-50 pucks in its own defensive 
zone, leading to plenty of early 
opportunities for the Nittany Lions. 
However, Mann remained even-
keeled and came up with several big 
stops before the Wolverines cut into 
the lead.
Near the halfway mark of 
the period, junior forward Nick 
Pastujov scored on a loose puck out 
in front of the crease. The initial shot 
came in from sophomore forward 
Josh Becker who streaked up the 
right wing on a pass from freshman 
defenseman 
Nick 
Blankenburg. 

Pastujov corralled the puck after 
Penn State’s defense was unable to 
clear it, making it 2-1.
After Michigan’s initial goal, the 
defense seemed to pick up steam 
and began to win more pucks in 
its own zone. As the defense found 
some temporary success, the offense 
began controlling possession and 
getting more opportunities.
And four minutes after Pastujov 
cut the lead in half, junior forward 
Will Lockwood, tied it up at 2-2. 
Junior forward Jake Slaker found 
Lockwood in the left faceoff circle. 
As Lockwood attempted to pass to 
an open sophomore forward Josh 
Norris, the puck took a deflection 
off a defender’s stick and past junior 
goaltender Peyton Jones.
The period ended 2-2 with a 
combined 33 shots for the two 
teams.
In the second period, the 
defensive intensity continued for 
the Wolverines. With that came 
some opportunities for offense, but 
they failed to capitalize.
After a pair of minor penalties 
on freshman forward Garrett Van 
Wyhe and Penn State defenseman 
Kevin 
Kerr, 
four-on-four 
play 
ensued, and the Nittany Lions 
regained the lead as Barratt skated 
into the offensive zone towards the 
right faceoff circle with the puck, 
seemingly unmarked, and fired past 
Mann.
Four minutes later Barratt scored 
again to complete the hat trick and 

gave Penn State a 4-2 lead heading 
into the second intermission. It was 
the same deficit Michigan faced on 
Friday night.
Early in the third period, the 
Wolverines pulled within one as 
Hughes found sophomore forward 
Dakota Raabe from the left side of 
the ice as he put the puck past Jones, 
making the score 4-3.
But the Nittany Lions were 
stubborn, not wanting to replicate 
the events of Friday. Just when it 
appeared Michigan had regained 
momentum, Penn State answered 
again and jumped out to a two-goal 
lead once more.
“(The defense was) just casual,” 
said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“Not picking guys up, not playing 
aggressive at times. We looked 
confused in our zone, everybody 
trying to do somebody else’s job. 
Not trusting the communication, I 
mean a number of things.”
Then, once again, the Wolverines 
scored to pull within a goal on a 
deflection from Pastujov, only to be 
answered yet again to make it 6-4 
with eight minutes remaining.
But the opportunity was there 
once more for Michigan, and for the 
third time in the period, they pulled 
within one goal. The puck found 
Van Wyhe with time and space in 
the right slot, and he fired a wrister 
to the top left corner into the net. 
“It’s crazy,” Pearson said. “Two 
nights in a row we’re down 4-2 
going into the third period, and we 

come out and score the first goal to 
make it 4-3, and here we go again.”
Then, with 1:05 remaining in the 
period, Norris fired a shot towards 
the net, and the puck snuck under 
the crossbar on a deflection off the 
stick of Lockwood to tie the game at 
six and send the game to overtime.
The comeback came was all for 
naught, though.

The Nittany Lions won the 
opening draw in overtime and 
fired the puck on net. Mann was 
unable to corral puck, and the 
rebound spewed out in front of the 
crease. Forward Sam Sternschein 
won the race to the net and scored, 
extinguishing the short-lived joy 
of the comeback for Michigan and 
winning the game for Penn State.
“I’ve been in this game 37 years 
in college hockey, and I don’t think 
I’ve ever seen an ending quite like 
that on an innocent play,” Pearason 
said. “They just pushed forward 
to the puck, they shoot it and it 
goes off Strauss, he can’t control 
the rebound and they beat us to 
the puck… so, a tough way to lose, 
especially when you don’t get any 
points out of it –– points are so 
critical. We got a lot of work to do, 
but I did like the resiliency our team 
showed tonight.”
In a series where both sides 
showcased 
their 
offensive 
firepower, the Wolverines’ defense 
was unable to replicate the third-
period performance that earned 
them a victory on Friday.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior center Jon Teske hit his first pick-and-pop three on Sunday and finished with 17 points against Providence. 

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

“That’s always 
gonna be our 
mindset going 
in.”

“We’re gonna 
take what 
people give 
us.”

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Junior forward Will Lockwood scored two goals in the Wolverines’ 7-6 loss on Saturday for a series split with Penn State.

JORGE CAZARES
Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan Daily Top 10 Poll 

Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out 
ballots, with first-place votes receiving 10 
points, second-place votes receiving nine 
and so on. 

1. Alabama: If Auburn or Georgia are any 
better than The Citadel, these guys might 
be in trouble.

2. Clemson: Can’t wait for Clemson to get 
tested in the ACC Championship against 
*looks at ACC Coastal standings* Pitts-
burgh…?

3. Notre Dame: Ian Book has earned his 
pinstripes far more than Giancarlo Stan-
ton.

4. Michigan: Maybe the real Revenge Tour 
is the friends we made along the way.

5. Georgia: This just in: CFP committee 
chairman Rob Mullens has received the 
maximum Venmo payment from User: 
@$irby_Kmart

6. Oklahoma: Oklahomer? I hardly know 
her!

7. Washington State: Mike Leach took 
this joke and made it into a five-minute 
press conference answer.

8. LSU: It’s actually Fewer Miles.

9. Ohio State: Xore like Xaryland!

10. UCF: Yeah, they’re undefeated, but 
they also live in Orlando. 

