Michigan Overcomes Distractions
Michigan badly needed some heart. The Wolverines got that and more from Albert White and Maceo Baston.
Michigan shook off the effects of a potential tragic auto accident as White and Baston, two players who weren’t involved, combined for 39 points and led the Wolverines to an 80-75 Big Ten Conference victory over Indiana on Sunday at Ann Arbor, Mich.
White scored 21 points and Baston had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Michigan, 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten.
“We came out with more enthusiasm,” White said. “We came out great as a team.”
Five Michigan players, plus a highly touted recruit, escaped serious injury early Saturday during a rollover accident as they returned from a party in Detroit.
The 1996 Ford Explorer, driven by Maurice Taylor, flipped after Taylor apparently fell asleep. Police said alcohol was not a factor. Also in the vehicle were Willie Mitchell, Robert Traylor, Louis Bullock, all starters, and Ron Oliver.
The most serious injury was Traylor’s broken arm, which ended the 320-pound freshman’s season. Traylor, still recovering from surgery at University of Michigan Hospital, was unable to attend the Indiana game.
But he was remembered. All the Wolverines printed Traylor’s No. 54 on their shoes.
Taylor scored 13 points before fouling out with 6:53 left. Mitchell scored four, and Oliver, a walk-on reserve, played briefly without scoring.
Brian Evans had 22 points for Indiana (15-10, 8-5).
OTHER GAMES
Steve Nash scored 21 points and Santa Clara (18-6, 9-3) claimed a share of the West Coast Conference lead with a 64-61 victory over St. Mary’s (11-13, 4-8) at Santa Clara. . . . Amal McCaskill scored five points, blocked a shot and deflected an inbound pass in the final 84 seconds as Marquette (17-5, 7-3) pulled out a 58-55 Conference USA victory over Southern Mississippi (10-12, 4-6) at Hattiesburg, Miss. . . . Junior guard Steve Fromal scored 17 points to lead La Salle (6-19, 3-9) to a 76-70 upset over George Washington (16-5, 9-2) in an Atlantic 10 game at Philadelphia. . . . Maryland (13-9) cruised to its 46th consecutive nonconference home victory, getting 21 points from Johnny Rhodes in a 91-72 rout of Missouri (16-9). Rhodes also had four steals, giving him a school-record 88 for the season. The senior guard has 322 in his career, six short of Chris Corchiani’s Atlantic Coast Conference record. . . . Jerald Honeycutt scored 21 points to lead Tulane (16-6, 7-3) to a 70-62 victory over South Florida (10-12, 1-9) in a Conference USA game at Tampa, Fla.