Michigan
Iowa
Blanchard Has Career Night as Michigan Slips Past Iowa
1/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team came through with their first road win of the season in a thrilling contest, defeating No. 14-ranked Iowa 70-69 in front of a sellout crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday (Jan. 20). The game was closely contested during the final five minutes and came down to the game's final possession. Iowa guard Dean Oliver's baseline jumper fell off the rim as time expired, and Michigan, which led from start to finish, held on for the victory.
U-M was led by sophomore forward LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), who scored a career-high 30 points to go with six rebounds and three blocks. Michigan never trailed during the game, matching scoring runs with the Hawkeyes down the stretch. U-M improves to 8-8 on the season, 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa falls to 14-4, 3-2 in the Big Ten.
Blanchard came out with the hot hand early on, demonstrating his array of offensive skills in scoring the game's first eight points. He buried an open three-pointer at the top of the key to put Michigan on the scoreboard. He finished an impressive alley-oop dunk off a nice pass by freshman point guard Avery Queen (Moreno Valley, Calif./Redemption Christian Academy [N.Y.]) near the top of the key to make it 5-0. And Blanchard continued his assault on the Iowa defense by nailing a baseline three-pointer to boost the Michigan lead to 8-0, forcing an Iowa timeout at the 16:10 mark.
A jumper by Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington D.C./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]) pushed the Michigan advantage to 10-0 as Iowa was scoreless for the first five and a half minutes. The Hawkeyes scored their first points of the game on three free throws by guard Luke Recker. Tough Michigan defense held Iowa without a field goal for the game's first seven and a half minutes.
Michigan continued to display a high level of confidence on the court, putting pressure on the Hawkeyes. Following an Iowa turnover, senior forward Josh Asselin (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) received an alley-oop pass from Blanchard and put home two points to give Michigan a 10-point advantage, 16-6. Guard Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon Prep [Conn.]) intercepted a pass and ran the length of the floor for an easy finger-roll layup and a 20-8 advantage. With the score 23-12, Iowa went on a 5-0 run to narrow the Maize and Blue lead to 25-17.
Michigan answered by pounding the ball down low to Asselin, who completed two key three-point plays in the final few minutes of the half. The second three-point play widened the Wolverines lead to 36-21, their largest advantage of the game. U-M led 36-24 heading into intermission behind 18 points from Blanchard and eight from Asselin. Michigan shot 48 percent from the floor while cold-shooting Iowa connected on just 21 percent from the field.
In the second half, Iowa scored three quick points before Robinson Jr. countered with a three-pointer. A blocked shot by Asselin set up a transition opportunity for Michigan, as Queen found Blanchard for an easy deuce. Michigan was up 43-31 with almost 17 minutes remaining.
Iowa marched back, applying defensive pressure to stop the Wolverines' attack. A layup by Iowa forward Reggie Evans cut the lead to 54-46 with 9:41 remaining. Robinson Jr answered with a three-point bomb from the corner to push the Michigan lead back to double figures and a 57-46 advantage.
Iowa would embark on a 7-2 run to cut into the Michigan advantage. Evans and Recker contributed back-to-back scores to cut the U-M lead to 59-53 with 5:46 to play. But Michigan would step up on offense, countering with a 5-0 run. Sophomore guard Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) connected on his second triple of the game, and Robinson Jr made a nice spin move on a penetrate-and-dish to find Young for an easy two-handed slam and a 64-53 Michigan advantage.
Iowa went on a 5-0 run to make it 64-58, but Michigan countered with two key plays, as Young drew an offensive foul by taking a charge and Blanchard proceeded to connect on a clutch three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to make it 67-58.
Iowa responded with a three-pointer by Oliver and a conventional three-point play by Evans, narrowing the score to 69-68 with 1:10 remaining. After Queen split a pair of free throws, Recker hit a driving layup to make it 70-69 with 46 seconds to go.
On the final possession, Iowa failed to convert on two chances to score. Evans missed a close shot inside, and then Oliver missed the potential game-winning shot to end the game.
Michigan returns home to host nationally ranked Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 25, at Crisler Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
N O T E S
LaVell Blanchard's career-high 30 points bettered his previous mark of 28 set earlier this season vs. Bowling Green (12/13). Blanchard is the first Wolverine to top the 30-point plateau since Louis Bullock notched 34 at Eastern Michigan (12/9/98).
Blanchard had career highs in field goals made (12) and field goals attempted (19). His career-high three blocks -- his first of the season -- helped Michigan set a season high with nine rejections.
Blanchard's 18 first-half points are a team season high thus far.
Avery Queen had a career-high-tying nine assists.
With six points tonight, Gavin Groninger has now topped 300 points for his career (302).
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
