Join us » The Cubs division lead is hardly in jeopardy at eight game

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The mood on Michigans campus was subdued, and Crisler Center was no exception. The football teams loss to Ohio State on Saturday will sting for a while, and it was hard for fans to get all that excited about a basketball game against Mount St. Marys.We knew we were going to have to create our own energy, senior Zak Irvin said.Irvin scored 14 points, Derrick Walton added 12 and No. 25 Michigan pulled away late in the first half and went on to a 64-47 victory over Mount St. Marys on Saturday night.In front of an announced crowd of only 9,410, the Wolverines went on an 18-2 run in the first half and led the Mountaineers 33-16 at halftime.Moe Wagner added 13 points for the Wolverines (5-1), who bounced back from a 15-point loss at South Carolina on Wednesday. Junior Robinson led Mount St. Marys (1-6) with 21 points, and the 5-foot-5 guard made his first five shots from 3-point range.The Mountaineers pulled within eight with 4:46 remaining in the game. Irvin responded with a midrange jumper, and the Wolverines were able to close out the game comfortably.Michigan trailed 12-8 in the first half when Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made a 3-pointer to start the Wolverines big run. A 3-pointer by Walton put Michigan up 16-12, and after 3s by Wagner and Duncan Robinson, it was 26-14.After going 2 for 26 from 3-point range against South Carolina, the Wolverines were 11 of 27 on Saturday. They also outrebounded Mount St. Marys 36-24 in a crisply played game that took only 1 hour, 40 minutes.BIG PICTUREMount St. Marys: The Mountaineers are starting their season with nine straight games away from home in a 23-day span. They played Michigan tough for about 10 minutes before going quiet offensively.The days kind of run together, but I cant say enough about these guys ability to enjoy the moment and improve on it, coach Jamion Christian said. I think when we get to March, I think Ill be saying the same thing about our success. This group knows how to enjoy the moment and lock into it.Michigan: Its hard to say what the atmosphere would have been like at this game if Michigan had won the football game earlier in the day, but the Wolverines did a good job taking control near the end of the first half, in front of a crowd that was small and not particularly loud.BACK ON TRACKIrvin had an awful game at South Carolina, shooting 2 for 13 and turning the ball over eight times. He was sharp Saturday, scoring his teams first eight points.For Zak to just come out stroking the ball the way he did was important for us, and then he made a huge shot down the stretch, Michigan coach John Beilein said.CLEANMichigan did not attempt a free throw until Xavier Simpson went to the line with 7:41 remaining in the game. The Wolverines finished 5 of 6 on free throws, and Mount St. Marys went 5 of 5.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wolverines were actually tied for No. 25 with Florida State in this past weeks poll and are in danger of dropping out because of the loss to South Carolina.UP NEXTMount St. Marys: The Mountaineers have only two more road games to go before their home opener, but the next one should be tough. Mount St. Marys is at Arkansas on Monday night.Michigan: The Wolverines host Virginia Tech on Wednesday night as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Cheap Shoes For Sale . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Cheap Shoes Website . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Cheap Shoes Fake . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Cheap Shoes From China . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Joe Maddon isnt surprised by the Chicago Cubs recent slump.Weve lost some games, and things arent going well right now, the Cubs manager said Thursday prior to a trip to Pittsburgh for a three-game series against the Pirates. Its just our turn, and weve got to fight through it. Like Winston Churchill once said, when youre going through hell, just keep on going.The Cubs opened the season with the best start in more than a century, climbing as high as 27 games above .500 and building a 12 1/2-game lead in the National League Central at one point.Since June 5, however, the Cubs are 13-18 with seven losses in eight games following a rain-delayed, 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Wrigley Field.I think there are long-term dividends attached to all of this stuff, Maddon said. A lot of the young guys getting more at-bats than we had thought at this time in the year -- guys like (catcher Willson) Contreras being forced into a more significant moment in July as opposed to maybe in September. Its just going to benefit him and us.The Cubs have used five rookies in recent weeks, all of whom joined the team in roughly the last month.Outfielder and leadoff batter Dexter Fowler, the catalyst to many first half wins, is on the disabled list along with backup catcher David Ross, who was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list this week.Cubs starting pitching -- notably the big three of Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and John Lackey -- have struggled of late, but they look to close the first half with positive performances.Arrieta (12-3, 2.33 ERA) gets the first crack in the series opener Friday when he faces left-hander Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.34 ERA). Arrieta is 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 career starts against Pittsburgh.Liriano is 0-2 against Chicago this year. He lost a 9-4 decision at Wrigley Field on May 13 and a 6-0 decision to Arrieta on June 17. He is 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 all-time starts against the Cubs.ddddddddddddLester goes on Saturday, and he will have Contreras behind the plate after Ross went disabled list. Lackey wraps up the series on Sunday.Chad Kuhl will start for the Pirates on Saturday, and Jon Niese will pitch Sunday.The Cubs division lead is hardly in jeopardy at eight games over the St. Louis Cardinals and 8 1/2 over Pittsburgh. However, the race could tighten further against a surging Pirates team.Three weeks ago, the Pirates were 15 games behind Chicago following a three-game Cubs sweep at Wrigley Field. Pittsburgh appeared on the verge of slipping out of contention, generating speculation it would write off the season and sell off players to contending teams.The Pirates instead turned the season around. Pittsburgh is 10-3 since June 24 and had won seven straight until a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday at Busch Stadium.However, even the series-ending defeat was encouraging, as rookie Tyler Glasnow impressed in his big league debut. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits, struck out five and walked two.He became the second Pirates pitcher to make his major league debut in three days, joining Steven Brault, who had a four-inning no-decision on Tuesday.The Cubs wont see either during the series.Pirates pitching had the lowest ERA (2.64) in the major leagues between June 25 and Wednesday. An improved bullpen has also been a significant element, led by closer Mark Melancon, who has converted each of his past 22 save situations dating back to April 27.The bullpens been incredible, thats tremendous, left-hander Jeff Locke said after he worked four innings Wednesday in the Pirates 7-5 win over the Cardinals. To hand the ball over to those guys -- youd like to go further into the game than that, but every day cant be Christmas. ' ' '