Michigan
Notre Dame
Wolverines Fall at Notre Dame in NIT First Round
3/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Michigan came out of the gate strong and eventually led 11-7 before Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run to go up 14-11. From that point the lead exchanged hands on several ocassions as both squads went back and forth. Offensively, Michigan dominated in the paint and rode the backs of Asselin and Peter Vignier (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck HS), who had six first-half points. The Wolverines scored 24 of their 33 first-half points in the paint as they utilized their size advantage.
Notre Dame's Troy Murphy, who would finish with a game-high 32 points, answered Michigan's challenge and helped Notre Dame knot the game at 33 going into intermission. In addition to Michigan's inside game, perimeter players Kevin Gaines (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS) and LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) also contributed to Michigan's balanced attack. Gaines provided six first-half points and keyed Michigan's transition with excellent passing, while Blanchard drained a triple to aid the Wolverine cause.
Notre Dame came out of the half fast and pushed its lead to 46-41 before another triple from Blanchard brought Michigan back. The Wolverines continued to pound to ball inside, and that philosophy paid dividends as Asselin dropped a couple of 12-foot jumpers, the second of which knotted the game at 50. However, Murphy began to get some help from Notre Dame's perimeter players and the Fighting Irish knocked down a couple of three-pointers to regain the lead.
Notre Dame used good perimeter shooting in the second half to push its lead to nine (60-51), but Michigan would not go away. The Wolverines used their strong inside game to set up good looks on the perimeter, and a nice skip pass out of the high post from sophomore Chris Young (Plymouth, Mich./Catholic Central HS) produced an open triple for Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS), who knocked it down to cut Michigan's deficit to two (60-58). At that point, Michigan's offense went dry and Notre Dame was able to pull away and ice the game from the free throw line.
Blanchard finished with a team-high 14 points to push his final freshman season total to 404, while Vignier capped his Michigan career with a 12-point outing, hitting 6-of-6 from the field.
Michigan finishes the 1999-2000 season with a 15-14 overall record, while Notre Dame (19-14) advances to the second round of the NIT and will play at home Monday (March 20) against Xavier, a 67-63 first-round winner over Marquette.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
