Michigan
Georgia Tech
Blanchard, Groninger Lead Michigan Past Georgia Tech
12/1/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Blanchard and Groninger both netted a team-high 18 points, while Jamal Crawford (Renton, Wash./Rainier Beach HS) recorded 14 points, five assists and four blocks to pace Michigan. Blanchard, who finished 7-of-11 from the field, also pulled in a team-high 13 rebounds to go with four assists, while Groninger connected on six of his nine three-point attempts.
After Georgia Tech (3-2) cut Michigan's 16-point lead down to six, 76-73, Groninger drained a three-pointer, his sixth of the game, on the right wing to push the lead to 79-73 with 1:19 to play. Crawford hit one of two free throws sandwiched by a pair of Tech hoops to bring the score to 80-77.
Kevin Gaines (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS), who nearly had a triple-double with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists, had a chance to ice the game, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 21.5 seconds left. However Tech's Alvin Jones was called for an illegal screen with 5.1 seconds and Groninger had a chance to close the game, but missed the free throw, giving Georgia Tech one final chance. Again the Yellow Jackets failed to get off a shot, turning the ball over as time expired.
The first half was a battle of runs as Michigan pushed out to the early lead. Georgia Tech scored the first points, leading 2-0 and 4-2 before the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run to pull out in front of the Yellow Jackets. Following a stagnant offensive start for both teams, Groninger entered the game and provided instant offense, draining three-pointers from the right wing, left wing and two the from the left corner to finish the first half with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Three of Groninger's long-range bombs occurred in the first 9:30 of the half as the Wolverines extended its lead to 24-12 with 10:28 remaining in the first half.
From that point on Michigan showed tremendous poise, answering every Georgia Tech run. The Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run to cut the Wolverine lead to 26-22, but a pair of Blanchard buckets -- one off a follow of a Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon Prep Academy) miss and another off a great drive-and-dish by Leland Anderson (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro HS) -- combined with a Josh Asselin (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) field goal and a Crawford runner ballooned Michigan's lead to 37-28. Tech ripped off a 10-2 run to bring the game within one point, 39-38, but the Wolverines regrouped and ended the half on a 9-0 run and entered the break with a 48-38 advantage.
After an even opening to the second half, the Wolverines went on a 7-2 run to extend their lead to a game-high 16 points, 70-54, midway through the second half. But the Wolverines could not close out the game as Georgia Tech raced back to set up the final moments of the game.
The Wolverines (4-0) return to action on Saturday (Dec. 4) when they host Chattanooga at 2 p.m. in Crisler Arena.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
