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12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 29, 2004
Sims busts out with longball
By Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan's Courtney Sims has beep waiting all
season for his chance to bust loose - just ask his
mom.
"I talked to my mother about it," Sims said. "She
said that if I have one breakout game, it will help me
throughout the whole (rest of) the season."
Last night's 90-84 win over Iowa may have been
that game for Sims, as the freshman scored a career-
high 16 points in 24 minutes of action.
Sims got off to a quick start, scoring the game's
first five points.
"We tried to establish an inside-outside game,"
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "Courtney pro-
s ducing in the post helped open up
our perimeter shooting, and we
were able to knock those (shots)
down."
After making a few buckets,
Sims' confidence and aggression
rose. He looked to get to the bas-
o
the ball," Sims said. "But my team was making shots
- Daniel hit a big three at the beginning of the sec-
ond half - so I wasn't really mad. I just want to
win."
Sims was limited by Iowa's defense early in the
second frame, but the freshman re-entered the game
with 10:23 remaining and continued his offensive
onslaught. Sims hit two free throws and his first-
career 3-pointer to reach his career-high total.
With 10 games left in the Big Ten season, Sims
hopes that his mom's prediction proves true.
ENERGIZED: For the second straight game, freshman
Brent Petway came in off the bench and made his
presence known.
Petway had five points - none coming on dunks.
He also added three blocks and took a charge to ener-
gize Michigan.
"I know what my role is, and my role is to defend
and rebound," Petway said. "I have the jumping abili-
ty that if I box out, I can jump up over anybody and
get the ball."
After playing just three minutes in the first half,
Petway played 10 minutes in the second and led the
team in rebounding with seven.
"He always brings a spark off the bench," guard
Daniel Horton said. "He always has a lot of energy."
BREAKING THE DROUGHT: After jumping out on Iowa
in the first half to a 31-20 lead, Michigan suffered a
six-and-a-half-minute scoreless drought in the first
half - just as it had during early Big Ten games
against Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Michigan allowed Iowa to run off 15 unanswered
points in the first half and trailed 35-31 with four
minutes left in the frame.
But unlike their games against the Spartans and
HAWKEYES
Continued from Page 8A
second half - 33 second-half fouls
led to 47 total free throws. One play-
er on each team fouled out. During
one stretch midway through the half,
there were free throws shot on four
straight possessions.
Michigan guard Daniel Horton,
who was battling an illness all day
Tuesday, shut down Iowa's second-
leading scorer, Jeff Horner.
Horton took advantage of his
quickness by guarding Horner (who
was averaging 12 points per game
coming in) along the 3-point line
and forcing him to put the ball on
the floor.
"I can't imagine any game he
faces in the Big Ten where he's the
quickest and most athletic guy," said
Iowa coach Steve Alford of Horner.
"He's going to have to learn to play
with that."
Freshman Brent Petway came off
the bench to spark the Wolverines on
defense, as well. He blocked three
shots and grabbed seven rebounds in
13 minutes of playing time.
He also drew an emphatic charge
on Worley in the second half, giving
the Iowa forward his fourth foul of
the game.
"I pride myself on the defensive
end," Petway said. "I don't like peo-
ple scoring on me."
Alford admitted after the game
that it was a tough contest for him
ket on almost every touch in the post.
Later in the half, the 6-foot-11 center caught the
ball on the block, turned and took it aggressively at an
Iowa defender. Sims dropped the ball in the bucket to
raise his point total to 11, and narrowly escaped a
charging call in the process.
"I didn't even know he was there," Sims said. "I
was just trying to draw contact once I saw him."
In the second half, Iowa's defense sagged into the
lane to try and prevent Michigan from being able to
make an entry pass.
"I was getting a little frustrated that I wasn't getting
Freshmen Brent Petway and Courtney Sims created
an inside presence for the Wolverines last night.
Badgers, the Wolverines battled back after going on
their scoreless streak.
Lester Abram knocked down a triple for Michigan
with 2:28 left in the half, scored a layup and was
fouled on the Wolverines' next trip down the floor.
The Wolverines outscored the Hawkeyes 13-2 to
end the half and go in the lockerroom leading 44-37.
"Certainly it was a game of runs," Michigan coach
Tommy Amaker said. "We told our guys at halftime
whichever team (was) going to stretch a run out was
going to win."
to coach. On Tuesday, the Iowa
coach lost his grandmother due to a
stroke.
"There (were) no warning signs,"
Alford said after last night's game.
Michigan will head to Illinois on
Saturday looking to steal a road win
from the Fighting Illini.
According to Horton, the team
will have to play better defense to
win in Champaign.
"That's what this team is about, is
defense," Horton said.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
IOWA (84)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Pierce 38 9-13 5-11 2-7 4 1 23
Worley 29 5-7 66 0-7 2 4 18
Sondereiter33 6-8 01 15 2 2 12
Horner 32 4-9 0-0 1-3 4 4 3
Boyd 30 4-6 2-2 0-0 2 5 13
Brunner 23 3-7 66 1-5 2 4 13
Rand 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 10
Hansen 5 1-1 0-0 00 0 4 2
Spurgeon 1 00 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
TEAM 00
Totals 200 29-5019-265-271726 84
FG%: .400. FT%: .731. 3-pont FG: 7-16,
.438 (Boyd 34, Woley 2., Homer 1-4, Brun-
ner 1-2, Rand 02). Blocks: 3 (Wole, Sonder-
leiter, Brunner). Steals: 8 (Boyd 2, Pierce,
Worley, Sonderleiter, Homer, Rand, Hansen).
Turnovers: 18 (Worley 5, Boyd 5, Pierce 4,
Team 2, Sonderleiter, Boyd). Technical fouls:
none.
MICHIGAN (90)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A MA 0-T A F PTS
Robinson 25 3-6 3-3 0-7 6 5 10
Sims 24 6-10 3-5 1-1 1 4 16
Brown 28 4-600 240 18
Horton 36 3-7 6-10 02 7 1 15
Abram 36 8-12 4-5 1-3 1 2 24
Mathis 13 1-3 0-2 1-2 1 0 2
Harris 22 4-11 1-2 0-1 4 4 10
Petway 13 2-3 1-2 4-7 0 0 5
Team 2-3
Totals 200 31-5818-2911-3020 20 90
FG%: .534. FT%: .621. 3-poInt F: 10-22,
.455 (Abram 46, Horton 3-6, Harris 1-6,
Robinson 1-2, Sims 1-1, Mathis 0-1). Blocks:
5 (Petway 3, Sims 2). Steals: 8 (Horton 3,
Robinson 2, Brown 2, Sims). Tumovers: 14
(Robinson 3, Horton 3, Harris 3, Abram 2,
Sims, Brown, Mathis). Technical fouls: none.
Iowa........................... 37 47 - 84
Michigan.....................4446 - 90
At: Crisler Arena
Attendance: 10,421
'M' to race
with elite
in Boston
By James V. Dowd
Daily Sports Writer
Junior Nate Brannen and sopho-
more Nick Willis often seem like big
fish in a relatively little pond in Ann
Arbor. Both have established them-
selves as world-class middle-distance
runners and potential Olympians. Both
have achieved All-America honors,
and Brannen won an indoor NCAA
championship in the 800-meter run.
This Saturday, the pair, along with
four teammates, will step into a slight-
ly bigger pond. They are traveling to
Massachusetts to compete in the
Boston Indoor Games at the Reggie
Williams Track and Field Center.
"I think Nate is looking to run as
fast as he can," Michigan coach Ron
Warhurst said. "(Willis) will compete
4
4
4
against the
best in the
country."
Perhaps
"best in
the coun-
try" is a
bit of an
understat-
m e n t -
some of
the best in the
accurate.
4
SATURDAY
Boston Indoor Games
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Saturday
Boston ESPN2
(6-7 p.m.)
world might be more
The 3,000-meter run will feature
Willis, competing for New Zealand,
along with Michigan alum Kevin Sul-
livan, who will represent Canada. The
two raced in last Saturday's Kris
Eggle Invitational 3,000-meter run,
with Willis winning by a mere .07
seconds. The pair will be challenged
this week by defending champion
Alistair Craig of Ireland, and other
top-10 finishers from last year's
games. Willis won last week's race
with a time just over eight minutes,
while Craig won last year's race at the
Boston games with a time of 7:45.22.
Willis hinted that he and Sullivan have
a little more in them, and that last
week's 3,000-meter race was basically
preparation for this week.
"We wanted to share the pace,"
Willis said of himself, Sullivan and
Brannen. "It was important to have
solid workout."
Brannen will also have quite a race
in the 1,000-meter run. Representing
Canada, he will race' against a formi-
dable American team and against two
strong opponents - Berhanu Alemu
of Ethiopia and Kenya's Nicholas
Wachira. The American delegation
will include last year's NCAA outdoor
800-meter run champion Sam Burley
and 2003 world indoor 800-meter
champion David Krummenacker.