Friday, March 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Michigan is using its National Invitation Tournament appearance as a chance to show the NCAA Tournament committee it was wrong to reject the Wolverines.
Michigan took a step toward that redemption Thursday night by pulling away in the second half for a 76-63 victory over Miami in a first-round game at Ann Arbor.
Maceo Baston scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half for Michigan (20-11), which stays home for its next game Tuesday night against Oklahoma State, which completed the first round with a 79-72 victory over Tulane.
"It was fun," Baston said. "It was nice to just be back in the gym."
And it might have been nice, for at least a couple of hours, to forget the adversities in a week that began with the NCAA tournament snub and continued with admissions by Michigan of two minor NCAA rules violations and published reports of possible major infractions.
"What happens off the court you have to leave off the court," said Maurice Taylor, who scored 13 points for Michigan.
"I don't read the papers much anyway," said Travis Conlan, who had seven rebounds and eight assists. "It was nice to just play ball and not worry about the other stuff."
Coach Steve Fisher said he tried to keep the focus on basketball.
"I think probably I was affected more than anyone," Fisher said. "We did what we always do and told our kids, 'Control what you can."'
Michigan, leading 33-32 at halftime, controlled everything in the second half against the Hurricanes (16-13).
Miami forward Clifton Clark led all scorers with 25 points, but it was not enough for the Hurricanes to avoid their seventh loss in eight games.
Guard Lucas Barnes added 11 points and forward Alex Fraser 10 for Miami. Forward Tim James, the Hurricanes' leading scorer, had just four points before fouling out late in the game.
The loss kept Miami winless (0-6) against Big Ten teams and without a victory in a national postseason tournament game since 1963.
"We had a difficult time adjusting to their athleticism," Miami coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They blocked seven shots and forced us to adjust a number more."
Michigan also got 18 points from Louis Bullock and 14 from Robert Traylor.
Baston and Taylor, both 6-9 forwards, led a 15-6 spurt to open the second half, turning Michigan's one-point halftime lead into a 48-38 advantage. Baston had six points in the run, including a pair of dunks and a putback basket, while Taylor added a 3-pointer and a putback.
"In the second half we were able to get out and run the court," Taylor said. "When we can run the court, we're at our best."
The Wolverines hit eight of their first 11 shots in the half, and they put back all three misses after getting no second-chance points in the first half.
"We dunked a lot on them in the second half," Baston said. "Dunks can really bring a team down emoitonally."
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Clark and Kevin Norris keyed an 11-2 run that cut Miami's deficit to 57-52 with with 5:55 to go. But Michigan, behind Traylor's two baskets and a three-point play from Baston, answered with a 9-0 run to regain control.
James, who averaged 14.3 points for the Hurricanes, was just 1-for-8 from the floor.
"I think you have to give them a lot of credit for that," Hamilton said. "They got up and contested his shots and they made it difficult for him to get to the basket."
The Wolverines, scoring off transitions and offensive rebounds throughout the second half, shot 63 percent in the period and 60 percent for the game. Miami shot just 37 percent in the second half and 39 percent in the game.
* OKLAHOMA ST. 79, TULANE 72: At Stillwater, Okla., Joe Adkins and Adrian Peterson each scored 19 points as Oklahoma State survived Tulane's 3-point barrage in the waning moments and advanced to the second round. Oklahoma State (17-14) led 73-63 with 1:02 to play on Peterson's two free throws, but Keith Harris hit a 3-pointer for the Green Wave, and after two Oklahoma State free throws, Chris Cameron followed with another 3-pointer. After a 20-second time out, Cameron hit yet another 3-pointer to pull Tulane to a 75-72 deficit with 39 seconds to go, but the Green Wave couldn't score again.
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