SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Michigan knew Florida State would present problems after watching the Seminoles pick apart a talented VCU squad in their first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Paul Kariya Ducks Jersey . What the Wolverines didnt know is that theyre a lot more resilient than they might have realized. Nik Stauskas scored 26 points, including seven in overtime, as No. 14 Michigan erased a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Florida State 82-80 Friday in the island tournament. The win earned the Wolverines (4-1) a spot in Sundays championship game against Charlotte, which beat Northeastern 86-77 in the other semifinal. "I think we just didnt want to go home with another loss on our chest. We came together as a team," Michigan guard Derrick Walton Jr. said. "We stayed together the whole time and possession after possession we got stops and it paid off at the end." Walton Jr. added 15 points and Mitch McGary had 14 points and 12 rebounds in his third game back from a back injury. McGary logged 33 minutes and went just 6 for 15 from the field, but kept the Wolverines competitive inside against the much bigger Seminoles front line. "Tonight was a battle. I think we stuck together as a team and showed our core values tonight," McGary said. "Going in at halftime we were down 10 and we still had a positive attitude toward the game, we just knew we needed to get stops each possession. "Theres not a 10-point basket we could use to get back in the game. We just had to grind it out each possession and thats that we did," he said. FSU (4-1) had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but a midcourt heave by Aaron Thomas bounced off the backboard. Ian Miller had 19 points to lead four Seminoles players in double figures, but he had just three after halftime. Okaro White added 18 points and Montay Brandon chipped in 14 in the Seminoles first loss of the season. Coach Leonard Hamilton said he thought Michigans change to a 1-3-1 zone defence disrupted not Miller, but the flow of his entire team. He also said that self-inflicted mistakes when players dribbled off their feet or stepped out of bounds late in the game were too much to overcome. "It made us tentative, we were not nearly as aggressive and then on the defensive end they did a very good job of attacking the basket and getting to the foul line," Hamilton said. "We tried to attack the basket and we couldnt get to the foul line ... they deserved this victory today." Michigan came out aggressive in overtime, with Stauskas scoring six of the Wolverines first eight points. He made one of two foul shots with 1:17 to play to put Michigan up 80-77. The Seminoles misfired on two possessions that could have tied it, and Walton made a pair of free throws to make it 82-77 with 14.8 seconds left. FSU wasnt finished, though. Miller broke a second half scoring drought with a 3-pointer that made it 82-80 with just 5 seconds remaining. After trailing by double figures for most of the second half, the Wolverines got a steal and 3-pointer by Spike Albrecht to cut the lead to 56-51 with 9:04 to play in regulation. Brandon scored six straight points for FSU to make it 63-54, before a basket by Stauskas got the Wolverines back within seven. Walton then got loose under the basket a few possessions later and was fouled as his layup dropped through to make it 64-58 with 3:52 remaining. He hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. The Wolverines kept scrapping and got a 3-pointer from Robinson to pull back within 67-63. Robinson then got a strip on defence and was fouled on the fast break. He hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to just a basket. Two foul shots on the other end by Devon Bookert put FSU back up by four, but it went right back to 69-67 on a two free throws by Stauskas with less than a minute to play. FSU took the shot clock down, but Bookerts 3-pointer from the corner was long. Michigan coach John Beilein said his team will only get better, and expects McGary to continue to be a key cog in that development. "You could see it a couple of times he wasnt ready for the 33 minutes," He said. "Hes so far (away), his timing and all those things are so far off. But he gives us some energy and some rebounding that few people in the country have right now." Jean-Sebastien Giguere Jersey . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Ryan Getzlaf Jersey . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea.http://www.officialduckshockey.com/Cam-Fowler-Jersey/ . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct.INDIANAPOLIS - There are a few common denominators between the Indiana Pacers and the reigning champion Miami Heat, with the number of similarities growing each day. Both teams were conference finalists a year ago, both clubs have an unmistakable identity that defines them, both play unselfish, defence-first basketball and in the last four days, both have reminded the Raptors how far they are from competing at their level. For Toronto, Fridays meeting with the still undefeated Pacers came to an unofficial end before most of the home teams fans could make it back to their seats. As good as the Raptors looked in the first half and as hard as they worked to look that good, Indiana reclaimed what was, as they knew it, rightfully theirs in less than three revealing minutes. "We knew they were going to come out and throw their best haymaker at us," Dwane Casey said, his team leading by as many as 12 in the first half and holding on to a two-point advantage at the break. Everyone knew they would, because thats what great teams do. Indiana opened the second half scoring 10 straight points, forcing three turnovers and holding Toronto to 0-of-4 shooting. Just like that, Torontos 24 minutes of (mostly) hard work was more than erased and the game was over. You could see it on the faces of players sitting on both benches as Casey was forced to call a quick third-quarter timeout to regroup. The Pacers had been in this position before, more than you would guess though six games this season. There was no panic, there was no time for sulking. They knew they had it. The Raptors body language spoke louder than words. They knew it was only a matter of time now. "[There are] no moral victories in this one," Kyle Lowry stated and Rudy Gay echoed minutes later. "We lost." The Pacers matched a franchise record - previously set in 1970-71 as an ABA team - winning six straight to begin a season. They havent allowed a team to score more than 91 points or shoot over 40 per cent. They havent scored 100 points, but they havent needed to. "I dont know if the history of [it] is as [important] as the fact that we have to lead on our goal," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said before the game. "And our goal is the number one seed. Were off to a good start and we all understand the importance of each game when our goal is so high." Theyve trailed at halftime in five of their six games, but it hasnt mattered. When youre a team as good as the Pacers, you can afford to bide your time. The Raptors learned that from the Heat on Monday when the defending champs started Torontos losing streak. The Pacers sent them home with that same effortless spanking, extending the Raptors skid to three and reminding them why Wednesdays disappointing loss to the Bobcats was so disappointing. They need to take advantage of winnable games because in this league, if youre a middling team, theyre few and far between. "There are no moral victories," Gay repeated. "We want to get this next one, thats it. We have to get this next one. The more we put ourselves in a hole, the more important the next game is and the next game is pretty important for us." The Raptors host the winless Utah Jazz in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. Its not a game they can afford to lose. George vs. Gay The match-up at small forward was a fun one in Indiana Friday night. Gay and the Pacers rising superstar Paul George combined for 53 points, 30 per cent of the total offence in the gaame.Custom Anaheim Ducks Jersey. Gay - who came into the game struggling, shooting just 34 per cent - was red-hot out of the gate. The Raptors leading scorer looked like the player of old, scoring 14 of his teams 32 first-quarter points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. He would go on to shoot just 3-of-13 in the second half, finishing the evening with an even 30 points but needing 26 shots to get there. "You can talk about Paul George, but I thought Rudy outplayed him," Casey said. "They won the game, but talking about individual matchups, Rudy played the game hes supposed to play." George was outscored by his counterpart, pouring in 23 on the night, but hardly outplayed with 17 of his points coming in the third quarter when his team needed him the most and the game was ultimately decided. The Pacers all-star forward, who came into the game fifth in scoring, has had at least 21 points in each of his teams six contests. A gifted two-way player, hes every bit the superstar he was paid to be this summer. As George stepped to the line with 11 seconds remaining, he was greeted by a chorus of MVP chants. Although anointing an MVP six games into the season is as silly as it sounds, hes playing at that level and thats the direction the 23-year-old is headed. Hes that good. Learning from the best The Raptors coaching staff, like most teams with young and impressionable big men, have been using the Pacers Roy Hibbert as a model for the 21-year-old Valanciunas. Offensively, the Raptors sophomore centre continues to make strides but, as head coach Casey reminds us, he still has a ways to go on the defensive end. The team hopes he will one day become the anchor that Indianas all-star big man has grown into on both ends of the floor. "He does such a good job of getting deep post position," Casey said of Hibbert, who scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. "Where he got JV last year was reposting, kicking it out and reposting up so on that second one, if you relax at all, all you can do is pray." One technique Torontos staff continues to preach with Valanciunas is something Hibbert has perfected in his sixth NBA season. To stay out of foul trouble and contest shots in the lane, the Raptors want Valanciunas to go straight up, remaining vertical without bringing his arms down in the process. "We give him the respect of calling it the Hibbert play," Casey said of the technique. "Hes one of the best in the league at doing that and thats where JV is getting much better." "Im trying to be like him with that skill," Valanciunas noted. But its not something Hibbert - the leagues early-season shot block leader - picked up overnight, one of the reasons Casey preaches patience with the development of his young centre. "It takes a lot of time," Pacers coach Frank Vogel acknowledged. "Its one of the things I think most of the big men in the NBA are working to achieve now. I think thats the way that Roy has set the model for how its done." Friday was one of those nights that Casey calls a "learning experience" for Valanciunas. One of his roughest of the young season, Valanciunas scored just four points in 24 minutes, committing five fouls and two turnovers. He was out-muscled by Hibbert, beat off the dribble by quicker players, exposed on switches and missed defensive assignments. The Pacers star big man is a good example of what Valanciunas can grow into but he also serves as a reminder that it takes time. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '
The Wall