Michigan
Bowling Green
Blanchard, Asselin Lead Michigan Back to Win Column
12/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball defeated Bowling Green 89-71 on Wednesday (Dec. 13) to end a four-game losing streak. LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) had a career-high 28 points with eight rebounds, while teammate Josh Asselin (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) added a season-best 18 points, nine boards, four blocks and three steals to carry the Wolverines. Michigan shot 53 percent for the game, and the defense forced the Falcons to take difficult shots all night en route to a .328 shooting percentage.
The Wolverines (3-5) were patient from the start on offense, and it paid off. Utilizing the shot clock, Michigan was able to convert easy baskets, making five of its first six shots. Blanchard led things off, with a put-back following an Asselin miss. On their next trip down, Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington D.C./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]) took advantage of a shot-fake, adding a deuce. Michigan then took it inside on a nice post entry from Blanchard to Chris Young (Plymouth, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central HS), making it a 6-4 game. Blanchard's solid start continued, as he connected on the next five points for Michigan, hitting his first triple of the game and adding a slashing move in the paint.
Michigan went on another mini-run in the first 10 minutes of action when Avery Queen (Moreno Valley, Calif./Redemption Christian Academy [N.Y.]) pushed the ball up-court and nailed a three from the top of the key. Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon Prep [Conn.]) kept the defensive intensity alive with a block, which led to a transition bucket from Josh Moore (Newark, N.J./St. Thomas More Prep [Conn.]). Robinson Jr. showed his poise in the offense as he pulled up for an open jumper from 10 feet off the glass, giving U-M a 23-16 lead.
The Crisler fans got out of their seats after Michigan's version of showtime. With 8:30 remaining in the half and following a Falcon miss, Moore passed the ball up to Blanchard, who from just over half-court threw a beautiful alley-oop pass to Asselin for a two-handed dunk. Queen hit his second trey of the half, giving U-M its biggest lead of the half at 32-23 with 4:28 left to play. Queen dazzled the crowd a few minutes later, scoring on consecutive plays and using nifty ball skills to elude various Bowling Green defenders.
Michigan hurt its defensive scheme for the half with 15 fouls, which enabled Bowling Green (3-3) to go 16-of-21 from the charity stripe in the first half to help keep the Falcons in the game. But the Wolverines took a 43-34 lead heading into the locker room, due in part to shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, with Blanchard's 14 first-half points pacing the way.
The Wolverines held Bowling Green scoreless for the first three minutes of the second half and went on a 6-0 run. Asselin highlighted the run with a thundering tip-dunk off of a miss from Blanchard. Michigan took advantage of its tough interior defense as Asselin had the team's third block of the half, which gave Robinson Jr. an uncontested finger-roll layup at the other end. A 12-2 run for the Maize and Blue resulted from another turnover by the Falcons and Blanchard hitting Robinson Jr. for a floater on the baseline. Asselin then responded with his second dunk on the night, spinning baseline on his defender for the jam, and a 62-48 lead.
Bowling Green would not go away and went on a 17-6 run to cut the lead to three points and force Michigan to take a timeout with 4:38 on the clock. U-M came out of the timeout with a well-designed play for Blanchard on the baseline, and he responded with a deuce. Blanchard then made a steal in the open court, and a trailing Asselin was rewarded with his third dunk of the night, after Blanchard missed a highly contested layup.
Michigan scored on its next three possessions, with Robinson Jr. leading things off with a shot off the backboard from inside the paint. Queen then hit a desperation three from the corner with the shot clock winding down to extend the lead to double digits, 77-67. With time winding down, Michigan iced the game from the free-throw line, and Robinson Jr. added a game-ending highlight when he lofted the ball into the air for a flying Blanchard on the finishing end of the perfect alley-oop.
After a break for final exams, Michigan will continue its holiday homestand with a noon game against Morris Brown on Saturday (Dec. 23).
N O T E S
-- Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) sat out the game with an injury to his left knee, snapping his streak of 36 consecutive games played.
-- LaVell Blanchard tallied a career high in points with 28. His previous best was a 25-point outburst at Boston College (Dec. 19, 1999). The total also gave him back-to-back games in which he scored 20 points or more.
-- Josh Asselin's 18 points are a season high. His previous best was 12 against Wagner (Nov. 25) and Wake Forest (Nov. 28). In addition to his scoring, Asselin also had a career high with three steals and for the second time this season he had a four-block game. Earlier this season, he had four blocks against Wagner (Nov. 25).
-- Bernard Robinson Jr.'s 17 points give him eight consecutive games reaching double digits in points. In addition to his scoring, Robinson Jr. extended his consecutive free throw streak to 19 straight after sinking his only two free throws against the Falcons. Robinson Jr. also collected career highs with five assists and three steals.
-- Avery Queen had now picked up at least one steal in eight consecutive games.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
