Michigan
Morris Brown
Michigan Topples Morris Brown in Battle of Wolverines
12/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With five players scoring in double figures, the University of Michigan men's basketball won its second straight game, downing Morris Brown College 95-81 on Saturday (Dec. 23) at Crisler Arena.
Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington, D.C./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]) led the way for the Wolverines as he hit for 17 points while collecting six assists, three rebounds and one steal. LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) each chipped in 16 points apiece, while Blanchard added five rebounds, a steal and an assist, and Groninger tied a career high with five assists. Josh Asselin (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and Josh Moore (Newark, N.J./St. Thomas More Prep [Conn.]) added 10 points, three rebounds and three blocks.
The Wolverines (4-5) controlled the opening tip and went down the floor setting up their offense. With the shot clock winding down, Blanchard just missed a long three-pointer, setting up Asselin for the tipback to open the game's scoring. Blanchard hit a triple to put U-M up 5-0 before Morris Brown's Anthony Adams answered with his first of five first-half three-pointers. Morris Brown (2-10) then stopped the Wolverines on their next two possessions, capitalizing on the other end with a jumper from Kareem Allison and then another triple from Adams to put Morris Brown up 8-5.
Chris Young (Plymouth, Mich./Catholic Central HS) answered on U-M's next possession with an inside dunk from a Robinson Jr. pass. Robinson Jr. then hit a jumper to give the lead back to the Wolverines, 9-8, before Morris Brown continued its hot outside shooting, hitting another triple to retake the lead, 11-9, with 11:02 remaining. Michigan then went on a 7-0 run to push its lead to 16-11, highlighted by a Maurice Searight (Orchard Lake, Mich./St. Mary's HS) coast-to-coast lay-in.
The pace of the game then slowed before Morris Brown tied it at 17-17 on a running jumper from Kavon Westberry. But on the next trip down the floor, Moore answered with a dunk, and Robinson Jr. then hit a running lay-in with the shot clock winding down to give the Wolverines a 21-17 lead. On Morris Brown's next possession, the Fighting Wolverines attempted an alley-oop dunk, but it banked in for a three-pointer to cut the Michigan's lead to one, 21-20. The Wolverines then extended their lead to six with another Asselin putback and Blanchard triple and then pushed it to 11 after Robinson Jr. added the next five points, giving U-M its biggest lead of the half, 31-20 with 5:20 to go.
The three-point barrage was then on as the two teams exchanged long-range bombs. Robinson Jr. kicked off the run with a three from the left side. That was answered with a Adams three, followed by a Michigan reply by Groninger. But those two were followed by another Adams trey. Michigan missed on its response but Morris Brown did not as Joseph Dunn hit from deep. After a Michigan timeout, the Wolverines controlled the pace for the rest of the half as they maintained a six-point lead. However, the Wolverines took advantage of a late Morris Brown turnover and another Groninger three-pointer, pushing the Wolverines lead to nine, 46-37, at the break.
The second half opened with a Blanchard triple to put the Wolverines up 12, 49-37. However, Morris Brown went on a 10-0 run to cut the U-M lead to just two. The pace would then go back-and-forth as the Wolverines maintained a three-point lead, 53-50, with 15:38 on the clock. The Wolverines pushed it to nine, 59-50, with 14:32 remaining after Groninger's third triple and a Moore lay-in. The lead would then expand to 14, 67-53, with 11:26 remaining after Michigan went to the inside game as Young and Moore hit two inside putbacks apiece. After an indirect technical foul on Morris Brown's Adams, Groninger then hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 16.
Groninger then continued the Wolverine attack, driving to the basket, drawing the foul and hitting the bonus to push the lead to 18. The Wolverines' newly added pressure defense then caused a Morris Brown turnover and Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon Prep [Conn.]) steal. After he was foul, his two free throws gave the Wolverines a 20-point lead. For every Morris Brown attempt, the Wolverines responded, as they continued to hold their 20-point lead. Michigan then pushed its lead to 24, 89-65 with 3:57 remaining, after a Groninger seven-foot jumper from the wing.
With the Wolverines up 21 points, the bench was cleared as Mike Gotfredson (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS), Colin Dill (Saginaw, Mich./Birmingham Country Day), Ron Garber (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins HS), Herb Gibson (Taylor, Mich./Truman HS) and Rotolu Adebiyi (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) all entered the game. Dill finished with four points and a rebound, while Adebiyi had two points to help Michigan close out the game with the 95-81 win.
The Wolverines continue their holiday homestand Wednesday, Dec. 27, against Towson at 7 p.m.
N O T E S
-- Bernard Robinson Jr.'s consecutive free throw streak was stopped at 22 as he missed on his third attempt against Morris Brown. He finished the game 7-for-8. In addition, Robinson Jr. had a career-high with six assists. His previous best was five against Bowling Green (Dec. 13).
-- Josh Asselin made it back-to-back games just missing a double-double as he finished with 12 points and nine rebounds against Morris Brown. Last game against Bowling Green (Dec. 13) Asselin finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
-- Gavin Groninger tied a career-high with five assists. He did it once before exactly one year ago against Duquesne (Dec. 23, 1999). What makes the career high special is that Groninger did not have a turnover.
-- Leon Jones tied a career high with four steals. He did it once before against Duke (Dec. 11, 1999).
-- Maurice Searight tied a career high with three steals. He did it earlier this season against Wagner (Nov. 25).
-- "Soul Patrol" member Colin Dill collected a career-high four points against Morris Brown. His previous best was two points against Wagner (Nov. 25) and Western Michigan (Nov. 21).
-- Michigan shot a season-best 59 percent from the field against Morris Brown. The Wolverines' previous best was 53.8 percent against Western Michigan (Nov. 21).
-- Michigan has scored above the 90-point mark in three of its four wins this season -- Western Michigan (92-78), Wagner (98-83) and Morris Brown (95-81).
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
