Michigan
St. Bonaventure
Michigan Tumbles to St. Bonaventure in Season Opener
11/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team dug itself into a 54-34 halftime deficit and never recovered in losing 89-68 against St. Bonaventure in its season opener on Saturday (Nov. 23) in the University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
| | Blanchard |
St. Bonaventure (2-0) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a free throw and a pair of fast-break layins. The Wolverines struggled early against the Bonnies' press but finally got on the board with a pair of free throws from Robinson with 17:30 remaining in the half.
The Bonnies extended their lead to 9-4 when a Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) four-point play and a jump shot from Abram gave Michigan its first lead of the game, 10-9.
The teams traded baskets until the Bonnies were able to put together runs of 7-1 and 8-1 separated only by a Daniel Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas, Cedar Hills HS) triple to make the score 32-20 with seven minutes left in the half.
After the teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, St. Bonaventure went on another run. This time the Bonnies ran off 14 straight points, including eight from Gansey on a pair of three-pointers and a layin, to make the score 54-30 with one minute to play in the half.
Michigan was able to cut the lead in the final minute with baskets from Sherrod Harrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS) and Chris Hunter (Gary, Ind./West Side HS), however, the Wolverines still trailed 54-34 heading into the locker room.
The first half was marked by physical play by both teams and 14 turnovers by the Wolverines. Michigan made its living at the charity stripe, connecting on 15-21 free throws. Gansey led all scores at half with 20 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from the line. Blanchard led the Wolverines with 10 points at the intermission.
Michigan came out strong in the second half, scoring five straight points to cut the Bonnies' lead to 54-39. However, Gansey was able to answer for St. Bonaventure to make the score 59-41 at the media timeout with 15:55 left in the game.
With the score 62-43, the Maize and Blue went on a 10-3 run to cut the score to 67-53 with 10 minutes left in the game. The run was highlighted by seven points by Robinson and a three-point play from Blanchard. However, St. Bonaventure responded with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to push the lead back to 75-53 with 7:30 left to play, and the teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines next take the court tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 24) against Virginia Tech in the second game of the Paradise Jam at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic Time (7:30 p.m. EST).
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
