Michigan Uses Charity Stripe Edge to Trip Commodores

Saturday, December 21

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:35 PM

Michigan

Vanderbilt

12/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team won its third straight game Saturday afternoon (Dec. 21), defeating Vanderbilt University 70-66 in front of 9,217 fans at Crisler Arena. U-M outscored the Commodores by 16 from the free throw line as senior wing LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) went a perfect 10-10 from the line and finished with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guards Daniel Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) and Lester Abram (Pontiac, Mich./Northern HS) chipped in with 17 and 13 points, respectively.

Blanchard led Michigan's free throw shooting success by making all 10 of his tries.

The Wolverine defense seized the momentum right from the opening tip, forcing two straight Vanderbilt turnovers before freshman center Graham Brown (Mio, Mich./Mio-AuSable HS) put Michigan on the board with a short turnaround jumper in the lane. Following another turnover by the Commodores, U-M junior wing Bernard Robinson Jr. (Washington, D.C./New Hampton Prep, N.H.) and Abram converted three free throws to push the lead to four points. On Michigan's next trip down the floor, Abram added three more points when he was fouled after hitting an off-balance runner in the lane. Vanderbilt was forced to call timeout after Robinson took a pass from freshman guard Daniel Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) and layed it in to make the score 10-1.

After the timeout, forward Julian Terrell scored the Commodores' first field goal at the 15:41 mark and followed with another basket to cut the lead to five points. Robinson's next bucket inside would be Michigan's only field goal for over seven minutes. During the scoring drought, U-M converted five of six free throws while Vanderbilt forward Brian Thornton knocked down four consecutive shots inside to even the score at 17 apiece. Horton scored another two points to put Michigan ahead before Vanderbilt scored four straight to take its first lead of the game, 21-19, with just under six minutes remaining in the first half.

Michigan's offense went cold on the next few possessions, and the Commodores took advantage from outside and hit their first triple of the game. Vanderbilt continued to build its lead after U-M got into some foul trouble, scoring six straight points to take a 30-21 lead. Horton's two points inside sparked an 8-2 Michigan run that included two straight triples from Blanchard and Abram, sending the Wolverines into the locker room down three points at halftime.

U-M made just eight of 27 from the field in the first half, with Abram tallying nine points and six rebounds to lead the way. Thornton paced the Commodores with 14 first-half points.

On the first play after the break, Blanchard collected a miss inside and put it back to cut the Vanderbilt lead to one. One possession later, Brown evened the score at 33 with his dunk inside. After the Commodores answered with a dunk of their own, Blanchard hit a jumper and Robinson scored off a steal to give Michigan the lead back, 37-35. Vanderbilt guard Corey Smith's basket to even the score would be its last for several minutes, as Horton and Abram combined for nine points during an 11-0 Michigan run.

With the Maize and Blue holding a 48-37 advantage, the two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before Vanderbilt reeled off 11 unanswered points to close the gap to one point, 58-57. After Blanchard hit his 10th straight free throw of the game, senior guard Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) picked off a Commodore pass and fed it to a slashing Chuck Bailey (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) for a fast-break layup. The next time down, Groninger nailed a triple in the corner to give the Wolverines a 65-59 edge. Michigan never relinquished the lead in the final minutes, as Horton and Groninger both knocked down key free throws to give U-M the four-point victory.

The Wolverines will next be in action on Monday (Dec. 23) when they host Eastern Michigan University at 7 p.m. in Crisler Arena.

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423