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SECTION B

Circus shot lifts Michigan to dramatic 71-69 win

By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer'
Tommy Amaker found the answer to his
lineup questions - he benched his best
'players.
"We felt we wanted to give them a differ-
ent look," Amaker said. "If we would've
lost, it wouldn't have worked. But we won,
so it worked."
That new look, MINNESOTA 69
which included for-
mer walk-on Mike MICHIGAN 71
Gotfredson but not
star forwards Bernard Robinson and LaVell
Blanchard, worked horribly at first - Min-
nesota opened the game on a 9-2 run.
But Robinson finished the game in dra-
matic fashion; his running 15-foot hook
shot kissed the high glass and fell through
with three seconds remaining to give his
team a 71-69 win.
"He's gifted. He's talented." Minnesota

coach Dan Monson said. "That was nothing
but an athlete making a play."
But Robinson's success was evident long
before his magical game-ending hook.
He finished with 12 points, a career-high
10 boards; six assists and a key block in the
game's final minute.
"He played a great all-around game,"
Amaker said.
Blanchard also starred despite opening
the game in a warm-up shirt. He hit on 8-
of-10 from the field for a game-high 20
points.
Senior captain Chris Young found his
offensive touch after the intermission, post-
ing back-to-back buckets inside to start the
half. Thirteen of his 18 points came in the
game's final 20 minutes.
"I was getting better position and I was
just taking my time more in the second
half," Young said. "In the first half I was
rushed a little bit and I was kind of short-
arming my shots and they weren't falling."

Amaker switched to what many would
consider his most talented lineup at the start
of the second half. That unit (Blanchard,
Robinson, Young, Dommanic Ingerson and
Avery Queen) opened things up with a 7-0
run to build a 35-29 advantage, its largest of
the afternoon.
But the Wolverines' offense disappeared
shortly thereafter, going scoreless for nearly
four and a half minutes. During that stretch,
the Gophers stormed out to create a 10-
point cushion (57-47).
But Queen and Ingerson brought Michi-
gan (3-3 Big Ten, 7-8 overall) back to life in
the final six minutes. Each hit a clutch 3-
pointer when it mattered most; Ingerson's
trey tied the game at 67 with 1:13 left on
the clock.
Freshman forward Chuck Bailey also
showed flashes of brilliance in his first
career start.
After playing just four minutes in the
three halves leading up to the Minnesota

game, Bailey found himself thrust into a
leadership role after Blanchard fouled out
with four minutes left.
With the game tied in the final minute and
five seconds left on the shot clock, the ball
found its way to Bailey. He drove to the hole
and dished to a wide-open Young, who con-
verted the dunk as the shot clock expired.
"The main thing that I was pleased about
was that he made a play instead of looking
for his shot," Amaker said. "It takes a lot of
poise for a kid to be able to do that in that
type of situation."
Said Young: "That was a huge play. (He)
really grew up on that play."
Minnesota (3-3, 10-7) pushed the ball
back down the court and Kevin Burleson's
runner tied the game with seven seconds
left, but then Robinson shut the door with
his game-winning circus shot.
."The timing of this win was tremendous
for our team and our program," Amaker
said.

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily
Michigan center Chris Young scored 13 points in
the second half to help his team come back.

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MICHIGAN STATE 1, MICHIGAN

Blue continues
to persevere
when it must
By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Writer
If one play could define the Michigan hockey
team's season, it would have to be Eric Werner's
game-saving effort with 6:37 remaining in Satur-
day's third period.
With the Wolverines trailing Michigan State 1-
0, Werner hustled to the blueline
to keep the puck in Michigan's HOCKEy
offensive zone. After doing so, Commenta
the scrappy freshman was pelted _____________
by an opposing defender, forc-
ing him down to the ice.
But Werner refused to give up. As the puck
squirted out of the crowd into an open area inside
the blue line, he hopps rti lt , flew to
the puck and gathered it on his stick. The flashy
defenseman then sent a backhand pass to fellow-
freshman Dwight Helminen, who fired a wristshot
from the right circle past Michigan State goal-
tender Ryan Miller.
Does this sequence sound familiar?
It should.
The Wolverines have taken their share of jar-
ring hits this season as well. But after being swept
at home by Northern Michigan inlate-October,
See PERSEVERING, Page 4B

Photos by BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily
Top: Defenseman Andy Burnes battles with Michigan State forward Kevin Estrada. Right: Michigan players and fans
explode after freshman Dwight Helminen scored the game-tying goal late in the third period.
Hel-minen b-re~.~aks Mill1er late

By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer

Dominance, frustration, relief and
confidence.
These four words were uttered
quite frequently after the Michigan
hockey team, powered by a third-
period goal by freshman Dwight
Helminen, came from behind to tie
No. 6 Michigan State 1-1 at Yost Ice
Arena Saturday night.
In a game with emotions and
intensity running high, No. 8 Michi-
gan (10-4-4 CCHA, 13-7-5 overall)
competed without its star forward
Mike Cammalleri (who is sick with

mono), outplayed the Spartans (12-
4-2, 17-5-3) on both ends of the ice,
outshot them 43-21 overall and
dominated in time of possession.
But in the end, Michigan State
goaltender Ryan Miller, last season's
Hobey Baker winner, kept his team
alive.
"He's their best player, and he was
their best tonight," Michigan coach
Red Berenson said. "We ended up
having to play from behind, but we
got the goal that we needed. I
thought it was a great team effort
tonight."
Michigan dominated the game
from the opening faceoff, applying

relentless pressure on Miller and the
Spartans' defensive unit. Firing shot
after shot, it seemed inevitable that
the Wolverines would jump out to
an early lead. Instead, it was the
Spartans who struck first.
With just over seven minutes
remaining in the second period,
Michigan defenseman Mike Roe-
mensky committed a turnover
behind the Wolverines' net. Michi-
gan State's Ash Goldie took the
puck and passed it in front to team-
mate Mike Lalonde, who redirected
it past Michigan goalie Josh Black-
burn.
See SPARTANS, Page 4B

RYAN LEVENTHAL/Daily
Michigan's Otto Olsen raises his arm in victory after
defeating the defending national champion Josh Koscheck.
Otto-matic for
'OT';grapplers
drop Hawkeyes
By Eric Chan
Daily Sports Writer
During his freshman year, Michigan's 174-pounder Otto
Olson's teammates gave him the nickname "OT" for his
ability to come through in overtime matches. On Saturday,
in his match against defending national champion and top-
ranked Josh Koscheck of Edinboro, Olson once again
showed that the nickname fit.
The No. 4 Michigan wrestling team went 3-2 this week-
end to capture fifth place at the National Dual Champi-
onships in Columbus. The Wolverines topped No. 14
Edinboro, No. 5 Iowa and No. 2 Oklahoma, but fell to No. 1
Minnesota and No. 8 Iowa State.
In the first round of the tournament, the top two 174-
pounders in the nation squared off. As Olson and Koscheck
stepped on the mat, the entire crowd shifted over to watch
their match. The Wolverines had already opened up a big
18-3 lead, so the match wasn't significant in the outcome of
the dual meet, but everyone knew the importance of the
match - the winner would claim the coveted No. 1 ranking
in all three major college wrestling polls.
In the first period, the action was limited as the two
pushed back and forth. Whenever one wrestler would
attempt a takedown, the other would counter and squirm
out. When the horn sounded, the score was still 0-0.
Koscheck took bottom position at the beginning of the sec-
ond period and scored on a reversal to take a 2-0 lead.
Olson quickly escaped to bring the score to 2-1. In the third
period, Olson scored on an escape to tie the score at 2-2 and
bring the wrestlers to their feet again.
At this point, the superior conditioning of Olson became
quite evident. Koscheck looked exhausted as Olson continu-
ally shoved him off the mat. The Michigan fans and coach-
ing staff were all looking for a stalling call on Koscheck,
but the referees appeared unwilling to end such an impor-
tant match on a stalling point.
The match went into overtime, where the wrestler with
the first takedown would take the win. Koscheck continued
to stall, and the crowd and coaches continued to boo. The
overtime period ended and the match went into double over-
time. Olson won the coin toss, and chose the bottom posi-
tion. As the whistle blew to begin, everyone around knew
who had the edge - Koscheck was exhausted, and Olson
was still going strong. Immediately, Olson stood up, and
broke Koscheck's grip to score the one point, upsetting the
defending national champion.
"My conditioning was what won it for me," Olson said.

_ _ ____

Michi avoids repeating history,. wins 68-55

By Jim Weber
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan coach Sue Guevara feared the game was getting
away from her team - again.
Indiana forward Jenny DeMuth hit two 3-pointers to open
the second half, extending Indi-
ana's lead to eight points. INDIANA 55
"When they came out and
DeMuth hit two 3s in a row, it U MICHIGAN 68
could have been deji vu, all over
again," Guevara said.

the momentum of the game, defeating Indiana 68-55 Sunday
in Crisler Arena.
"We said, we have got to get a stop, and we did," guard
Alayne Ingram said about the team's timeout during this cru-
cial point in the game. "I think the big plays on defense got
our offense going."
The Wolverines held Indiana to three points in the next 10
minutes in the midst of a 28-7 Michigan run. The run culmi-
nated with a three-point play by Stephanie Gandy that gave
Michigan a 56-43 lead with four minutes remaining. Michi-
gan is now 2-6 in the Big Ten, 12-7 overall. Indiana dropped
to 2-5 in the conference and 8-10 overall.

"I think a lot of people were snatching, grabbing and going
to the boards hard," Bies said. "That leads to our intensity
level, being mean and going out there and wanting it."
Sunday's victory was especially important because Michi-
gan had lost its last four games and six of its first seven Big
Ten contests.
"The monkey is off our back," Guevara said. "I think it's a
really good confidence builder, which we were struggling
with."
Ingram had a game-high 33 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Bies scored 19 points in the game, 18 in the second half.
Taking Bies lead, Michigan shot 46 percent from the field in
the ePnrihl b.,ft44r ,hnntina 17 nrnrt in the first frame-

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