Michigan
Wagner
Blanchard's Dominant Play Leads Michigan Over Wagner
11/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball made it two straight wins at home as six Wolverines scored in double figures in the Wolverines' 98-83 defeat of Wagner College Saturday (Nov. 25) in front of 8,987 fans at Crisler Arena. Sophomore LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) led the way for the Wolverines, collecting his 11th career double-double with a 24 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds.
Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington, D.C./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]) followed with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Asselin (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) had 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks; Chris Young (Plymouth, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central HS) had 12 points and five rebounds; Avery Queen (Moreno Valley, Calif./Redemption Christian Academy [N.Y.]) had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists; and Josh Moore (Newark, N.J./St. Thomas More Prep [Conn.]) had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The game pace was blistering at first as both team went end to end. Wagner jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after a triple by Courtney Pritchard and then a jumper by Solomon Edwards, forcing a Michigan timeout. After the timeout, Young snapped the Wolverines' scoring drought and swung the momentum to the Maize and Blue's favor on an inside layup from a Moore interior pass. After a pair of Maurice Searight (Orchard Lake, Mich./St. Mary's HS) free throws, a Blanchard three gave the Wolverines their first lead at 10-8, but Wagner's Chris Jackson answered right back with a triple of his own to give the Seahawks an 11-10 lead.
The pace of the game then took shape as both teams began to get into their offensive rhythms. A Robinson Jr. layup underneath the basket extended the Wolverines' lead to 14-11. A pair of Young dunks and back-to-back triples from Blanchard and Queen kept pace with Wagner's outside shooting as the Wolverines had a 24-17 lead with 11:18 to go.
The pace then again quickened as the Wolverines and Seahawks went up and down the floor. But the Wolverines were able to build a 10-point lead after the conversion of a three-point play by Robinson Jr. After a steal by Queen and toss to Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Mich./Plainfield HS), the Wolverines broke up the floor and Groninger passed to Robinson Jr., who laid it in and was fouled. The Wolverines continued as they built a 21-point lead, 47-26, using the inside-outside game. Wagner tried to cut into the Wolverine lead, but U-M held strong and finished the half with a 17-point lead, 50-33.
The second half continued with the same pace. Asselin's inside presence helped the Wolverines hold a 20-point lead in the first four minutes with back-to-back interior dunks. Wagner then continued its pressure defense, which forced the Wolverines into 22 total turnovers in the game, as the Seahawks cut into the U-M lead. But Michigan kept pressing as they countered any attack the Seahawks could muster with balanced scoring by Blanchard and Robinson Jr. The Wolverines did not allow their lead to drop below 14 points in the second half.
With the Wolverines up 16 points and for the second consecutive game, the bench was cleared as Mike Gotfredson (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS), Colin Dill (Saginaw, Mich./Birmingham Country Day), Ron Garber (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins HS), Herb Gibson (Taylor, Mich./Truman HS) and Rotolu Adebiyi (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) all entered the game. Dill finished with two points, while Gotfredson and Adebiyi each had a rebound to help Michigan close out the game with the 98-83 win.
Michigan hosts No. 16/17 Wake Forest in the second annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Tuesday (Nov. 28) at Crisler Arena. The game against the Demon Deacons is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. tipoff and will be broadcast on ESPN.
N O T E S
-- The last time Michigan had six players score in double figures was Jan. 25, 1992, vs. Wisconsin. The last Wolverines to accomplish that feat were Chris Webber (25), Jimmy King (15), Jalen Rose (13), Juwan Howard (12), Michael Talley (12) and Eric Riley (10).
-- Sophomore LaVell Blanchard recorded his 11th career double-double with 24 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds. He now has collected 13 rebounds four times in his Michigan career, including twice in three games this season (at Oakland, Nov. 17).
-- The Wolverines have scored 90 or more points in the first three games of the season. The Wolverines hit for 90 points at Oakland (Nov. 17), 92 against Western Michigan (Nov. 21) and 98 against Wagner (Nov. 25). The last time the Wolverines had three straight 90-plus performances was during the 1993-94 season -- in a 102-81 win vs. Auburn (Dec. 28, 1993), a 119-95 loss vs. Arizona (Dec. 30, 1993) and a 111-84 victory vs. Boston University (Jan. 3, 1994).
-- Junior Rotolu Adebiyi recorded his first collegiate statistic, grabbing a rebound in the final 30 seconds of the game.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
