Michigan
California All-Stars (ex)
U-M Dumps California All-Stars in Exhibition Opener
11/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Blanchard, a freshman forward, put the first Wolverine points of the season on the board with a rebound tip-in to give Michigan an early 2-0 lead. After the California All-Stars took a 5-4 lead, Michigan freshman Kevin Gaines (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS) dropped a three-pointer from the top of the key as Michigan regained its lead at 7-5. Following three more lead changes, Asselin grabbed a offensive board and the slam-dunk putback along with a pair of Asselin free throws gave Michigan a 17-13 lead.
The Wolverines came out of a timeout and pushed their lead to seven with a Jamal Crawford (Renton, Wash./Rainier Beach HS) three-pointer. At the 7:09 mark of the first half, an Asselin free throw pushed Michigan's lead to double-digits (27-17) for the first time. However, the California All-Stars went on a 9-0 run to trim the Wolverine lead to one (27-26) at the 4:14 mark of the first half. The California All-Stars continued their run and took their first lead at of the game 30-29. After the All-Stars stretched their lead to 32-29, Gaines tripled to tie the score 32-32 before the All-Stars scored the final four points of the half to take a 36-32 lead into the intermission.
Michigan was paced in the first by eight points from Blanchard and six from Gaines. Junior Pete Vignier (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck HS) led Michigan off the glass with a team-high five first-half rebounds, including three offensive boards.
The All-Stars came out in the second half and pushed their lead to seven. Asselin answered for the Maize and Blue with a three-point play on an assist from Crawford to cut the Michigan deficit to four 50-46. After the two squads traded baskets, the All-Stars knocked down back-to-back three pointers to push their lead to double digits for the first time, 60-48.
In a half of runs, the next one belonged to Michigan and it was started by a Blanchard three. A pair of free throws from Gaines and a Jones lay-up on a pass from Gaines caused the All-Stars to call a timeout with their lead cut to 60-57. The All-Stars came out of the timeout and nailed a three, but Michigan immediately regained the momentum and went on a 6-0 run, ending with a Blanchard layup on a feed from Gaines to tie the score at 63. The All-Stars answered with a 15-4 run to push their lead back up to double digits (78-67) at the 4:04 mark of the second half. Michigan, however, was not done and went on a seven-point run behind a dunk from Blanchard, a triple from Jones and a hoop from Blanchard to cut the deficit to four at 78-74.
Following a Crawford three-point basket to cut the lead to two at 79-77, Jones continued his torrid second-half performance with another Michigan triple to give the Wolverines their first lead of the second half, 80-79, with less than two minutes to play. With Michigan leading 80-79 and only 22 seconds left in the game, Jones knocked down a pair of free throws and Crawford rebounded an unsuccessful All-Star three-point attempt to put the Michigan 84-79 win on ice. Michigan's second-half run was keyed by Jones, who delivered a team-high 14 second-half points.
The Wolverines will play their second and final exhibition game of the season when they host Team Prestige on Sunday (Nov. 14) at 7:30 p.m.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
