Michigan
Bowling Green
Wolverines Soar to Blowout Victory Over Bowling Green
12/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team secured its first win of the season by beating the Bowling Green Falcons 83-57 on Wednesday (Dec. 11) in front of 8,167 fans at Crisler Arena. With the win U-M (1-6) snapped its six-game losing streak and avenged last season's loss to the Falcons (2-3).
| | Horton (left) scored 24 of his 26 points before halftime. |
The Bowling Green defense was the story early, holding the Wolverines to zero field goal attempts and forcing five U-M turnovers in the game's first three minutes. The Falcons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two buckets by Kevin Netter, but U-M pulled even after a Chris Hunter (Gary, Ind./West Side HS) putback and an Lester Abram (Pontiac, Mich./Northern HS) bucket.
The Falcons shot ahead 9-6, but the Wolverines found their shooting touch after the first media timeout. The Maize and Blue went on a 10-3 run over the next two minutes to take a 16-12 lead with Horton scoring seven straight during that stretch. U-M continued to stay hot from the outside, pushing its lead to 23-17 on the strength of a five Horton points and an Abram jumper with under eight minutes to play.
Riding Horton's hot hand, the Maize and Blue went on a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the half, 39-28, with 1:20 left to play in the first stanza. The freshman scored eight points during that run, including two field goals from downtown. The run was capped with Horton serving up an alley-oop dunk to Blanchard. Following a Falcon basket, Horton closed the first-half scoring with driving layup, giving the Wolverines a 43-30 lead heading into the locker room.
The Falcon defense had no answer for Horton, as he connected on 9-11 field goal attempts, including four from behind the arc, on his way to scorching the nets for 24 first-half points. Abram chipped in with eight points and two boards. U-M had its best shooting half of the season, hitting 16-29 (.552) from the floor, 5-9 (.556) on three pointers and 6-7 (.857) from the charity stripe.
The teams opened the second half going back and forth, but U-M pulled ahead 54-38 with Robinson coming alive for eight points including one triple with 15:29 to play. The Maize and Blue took its largest lead of the game to that point, 61-42, after Robinson found Blanchard for another rim-shaking dunk that brought the Crisler Arena fans to their feet.
Then the Wolverines used a 7-2 run midway through the second half to blow the game open and take a 68-44 advantage. The Maize and Blue would keep the lead at 20 points or more for the remainder of the half, allowing head coach Tommy Amaker to clear his bench in the game's closing minutes.
Blanchard and Robinson carried the second-half load for U-M as each player scored 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the game's final 20 minutes. Fifth-year senior Rotolu Adebiyi (Ann Arbor, Huron HS) and junior Colin Dill (Saginaw, Mich./Birmingham Country Day) both were able to see the floor late in the second half for U-M, while freshman Sherrod Harrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central HS) was able put his name into the scorebook by hitting a jumper with under four minutes to play.
The Wolverines will next be in action this Saturday (Dec. 14) when they take on Charleston Southern at 12:30 p.m. at Crisler Arena.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
