Michigan
Duke
Duke Pressures Michigan Into Sixth Consecutive Loss
12/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team was pressured into committing 25 turnovers, including 19 in the first half, and dropped its sixth straight game of the season, 81-59 to the No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils on Saturday (Dec. 7) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Wolverines (0-6) held the Duke offense to only 3-18 (.167) shooting behind the arc but did not have an answer for the Blue Devils' defensive intensity.
| | Bailey |
The Wolverines fell behind 3-0 in the opening minutes of the contest but answered with a 7-0 run to take a 7-3 lead after three and a half minutes of play. Duke battled back to take the lead, 8-7, with 15:30 left in the half. A Blanchard dunk and Bailey free throw pulled U-M ahead again, 11-10, but the Blue Devils scored eight straight points to open up a seven-point lead, 16-11, with 11:35 remaining in the half.
A Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington, D.C./New Hampton Prep, N.H.) hoop and Blanchard layin cut the Blue Devils' lead to three, 18-15. But Duke then proceeded to go on a 10-4 run to take its largest lead of the game to that point, 28-19, after the game's first 12 minutes. U-M could not take advantage of its opportunities at the free throw line, as it missed two front ends of one-and-ones late in the first half, which helped the Blue Devils extend their lead to 12 points, 35-23 with less than four minutes remaining. The home team went on an 11-2 run to close the half and took a 44-25 lead into the locker room.
The Wolverines were hampered by some early foul trouble to key players, which was a major factor in their 19 first-half turnovers which led to 20 Blue Devil points. U-M did not take advantage of its opportunities from the charity stripe, hitting only two of eight attempts (.250) and missing their last six of the half. Leading scorers at the break for the Wolverines were Brown and Bailey, who put in six points apiece.
The Blue Devils (5-0) quickly put an end to any hope for a Wolverine comeback in the second half by going on a 9-3 run to take a 53-28 lead with 17:18 left to play. Duke then went on cruise control, keeping its lead around 25 points for the majority of the second half. U-M scored the game's last five points to make the final score 81-59.
Abram had a strong second half, scoring 12 points. Daniel Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) connected on two triples, and Blanchard tallied five points in the game's final 20 minutes.
The Maize and Blue will next be in action on Wednesday (Dec. 11), hosting Bowling Green in a 7 p.m. contest at Crisler Arena.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
