The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 9, 2004 - 5B Talkin' the talk "If we'd had (a timeout remaining), we'd have won the game." - Purdue coach Gene Keady discussing how the Boilermakers were unable to set up defensively following Brandon McKnight's basket with seven seconds left. SATURDAY'S GAME Purdue 63 Michigan 64 Players of the game Brandon McKnight (Purdue) The guard finished with 10 points and put Michigan on the ropes by hitting two clutch shots in the final 30 sec- onds of the game. Courtney Sims (Michigan) Sims scored 11 points - including the game-winning tip-in with 1.4 seconds left - and added 15 rebounds and five blocks. Scoring problems plague Blue Brown's minutes limited due to hand injury; free throws almost costly SATURDAY'S GAME Purdue (63) By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer In the midst of a brutal offensive drought of more than ten minutes without a field goal, Michigan needed a big play in the biggest way. Not just to save its game, but to- save its season.1 It got one from a player t looking like his former self. Michigan guard Daniel Horton hit two titanic shots down the stretch for the Wolverines on Saturday, giving Court- ney Sims the opportunity to win the game in the final seconds. Although Horton airballed a shot in the final seconds before Sims scored the winning basket, his two clutch shots put Michigan in the position to pull the game out. Just after Purdue guard Austin Parkinson stole the ball in the backcourt and went untouched for an easy lay-up to tie the game at 57 with less than two minutes to go, for- ward J.C. Mathis handed the ball to Horton, who nailed a huge 3-pointer after a Michigan timeout. "(Assistant) Coach (Chuck) Ramsey told me when we came back out, and the score was tied, to just make a play," Horton said. "And J.C. really made the play. They were doing a good job playing the ball screen, so he just ran a dribble handoff and the guy went underneath him." Two possessions later, Horton made a hori- zontal cut past two screens, received a pass from Dion Harris just inside the foul line, and nailed a jumper to keep the Michigan lead at three. "The big guys just set good screens, I just curled and got to the basket," Horton said While the sophomore went 6-for-15 from the field and was inconsistent throughout the game, fighting struggles that he has had the entire season, his offensive activity gives hope that he may be getting out of his slump. Horton led the Wolverines with 19 points and five assists. "I thought Horton's play was spotty through- out the game, but then we saw something that Daniel's done for us a lot, as he made some big plays and some big baskets," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. TAKING THE BLAME: Sophomore center Gra- ham Brown played just eight minutes in Satur- day's game, including just two in the second half, partly because his left hand was bothering him. Brown hurt his hand last week in practice and has been nursing it since. In his limited action, Brown missed three close shots and picked up two blocking fouls. But despite his injury, Brown was not making any excuses after the game. "I didn't play very well today," Brown said. "Maybe it's the hand, but maybe I have to take the responsibility upon myself. You can't really say anything about the hand, you just got to play your game. I take full responsibility that I didn't finish as well as I needed to." Brown is confident that he will be at full- strength for this week's road games against Minnesota and Iowa. ALMOST PERFECT: Although it has been an Achilles heel for much of the season, Michigan shot extremely well from the free throw line for most of Saturday's game. The Wolverines went 15-for-20 from the charity stripe, well above their season average of .660. But three of their five misses came during the final min- utes, with both Horton and Sims missing the front ends of one-and-ones that gAve Purdue the chance to take the lead in the final minute. "We missed some big free throws, as I thought Courtney's one-and-one and Daniel's free throws certainly could have helped us." Amaker said. NOTES: Saturday's game was the first sell- out at Crisler Arena this season ... The dou- ble-doubles recorded by Sims and Bernard Robinson were Michigan's first this season. It was the first time two Wolverines had a double-double in a game since 2000 ... With Wisconsin's loss at Northwestern, Michigan State (7-2) now has the Big Ten lead after finishing its non-conference schedule 5-6. The Spartans have lost just one game to a non-ranked opponent. Teague Keifer Kartelo McKnight Parkinson Buscher Ford Nwankwo Buckley Carroll TEAM Totals FG FT REB, MIN M-A M-A 0-T A FPTS 35 6-13 0-1 1-7 0 2 14 23 4-8 0-0 4-8 2 3 8 28 0-4 0-0 2-6 2 4 0 25 5-12 0-0 0-7 2 0 10 30 3-7 2-2 2-6 9 4 8 20 4.7 2-4 1-2 0 2 10 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 7 1-1 1-2 0-0 0 2 3 29 3-8 2-2 0-1 2 0 10 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1-2 200 26-60 7-1113-3915 27 63 FG%:.433. FT%:.636. 3-point FG: 4-14, .286 (Buckley 2-4, Teague 2-6, McKnighta 03, Parkinson 0-1). Blocks: 5 (Keifer 3, Kartelo 2). Steals: 3 (Buscher, Keifer, Teague). Turnovers: 15 (Parkinson 5, Keifer, 3, Buck- ley 2, McKnight 2, Buscher, Kartelo, Nwankwo). Technical fouls: none. MICHIGAN (64) Robinson Sims Brown Abram Horton Harris Petway Mathis Team Totals FG%: .361.1 MIN 36 37 8 31 34 29 9 24 FG M-A 5-15 5-10 0-3 1-3 6-15 0-5 0-0 2-3 FT M-A 1-2 1-3 0-0 4-4 4-5 3-4 4-4 1-2 REB 0-T 4-10 4-15 0-0 2-2 0-2 0-2 1-1 2-4 3-4 A 2 0 0 0 5 1 0 2 F PTS 1 11 1 11 2 0 3 7 2 19 1 3 24 1 5 200 224115.20241131364 FT%: .750. 3-point FG: 5-22, RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan sophomore Graham Brown was limited to Just eight minutes on Saturday due to a hand injury. .227 (Abram 1-2, Horton 3-8, Harris 1-8, Robinson 0-3, Sims 0-1). Blocks: 6 (Sims 5, Abram). Steals: 7 (Horton 2, Robinson 2, Harris, Mathis, Petway). Turnovers: 10 (Sims 4, Horton 3, Robinson 2, Petway). Technical fouls: none. BOILERS Continued from Page 113 and improvise a defense on the fly to stop the charging Horton - a situa- tion that led to Sims' terrific inside position. "I wish we would've had (a time- out)," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "If we'd have had one, we would've won the game because we would've got our defense set up. We didn't block out. You've got to punch the ball out and not let them have another possession." After the referees viewed the replay of Sims' shot, Purdue was given 1.4 seconds to attempt to steal a win. But the Boilermakers' final heave downcourt was tipped away, preventing any last-second shot attempt and preserving a roller-coast- er victory for the Wolverines. "I don't think we escaped, I think we won," Horton said. "I think that's something that this team is getting used to doing - pulling it out at the end." For the first eight minutes of the second half, it looked as if Michigan (4-4 Big Ten, 13-6 overall) might run Purdue (5-4, 15-7) out of sold-out Crisler Arena. After leading 35-30 at the half, the Wolverines watched Pur- due trim the advantage to one before responding with a 15-2 run to open the 16-point cushion. Freshman Dion Harris started the spurt by converting a layup after Horton threaded the needle with a bounce pass through two Purdue defenders. Two plays later, Harris forced a turnover and fed senior Bernard Robinson for an easy bucket. "I thought our defense was terrif- ic," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "We were able to use our defense to create good shots offen- sively." But that was the high water mark for the Wolverines. Keady used one of his team's timeouts, turning the momentum around. "(I told them in the timeout) to be aggressive on offense first, and believe they could make a come- back," Keady said. "In college bas- ketball, you're never out of it." Purdue forward David Teague began to heat up from the field, while the Wolverines' offense was lulled to sleep by the Boilermakers' zone defense. Michigan went almost 11 minutes without a basket, managing a mere three free throws over that stretch. This drought allowed Purdue to tie the game at 57. <"I think (we frustrated them);" Teague said. "We had them right where we wanted them." The two teams wrestled back and forth from there on in. Horton ended the scoring troubles by drilling a 3- pointer from the top of the key. But Horton and Sims each missed the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunities, paving the way for McKnight to hit two shots that put Purdue ahead in the final 30 seconds. Sims and Horton's late-game hero- ics were the culmination of solid evenings from both players. Horton had a game-high 19 points and added five assists, while Sims recorded I1 points and 15 boards -his first career double-double. Robinson joined Sims in the double-double cat- egory, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Michigan returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers, who are still winless in the Big Ten after losing to Illinois yesterday. Michigan................. 35 Illinois.....................30 29 - 64 33 - 63 At: Assembly Hall, Champaign Attendance: 16,618 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Michigan State Wisconsin Illinois Purdue Iowa Indiana Michigan Northwestern Penn State Ohio State Minnesota Conference Overall W L W L 7 2 12 8 6 2 15 4 6 3 15 5 5 4 15 7 5 4 12 8 5 4 11 9 4 4 13 6 4 5 9 11 3 5 9 10 3 6 11 11 0 9 8 13 DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily in addition to netting the game-winning bucket, Michigan freshman Courtney sims blocked five shots against Purdue on Saturday. In addition to the shots he sent back, Sims also appeared to alter a number of other Purdue field-goal attempts. Sims By Daniel Bremmer Daily Sports Editor confidence on the rise Yesterday's results: Illinois 79, MINNESOTA 69 Saturday's results: MICHIGAN 64, Purdue 63 Iowa 87, INDIANA 82 (20T) NORTHWESTERN 69, Wisconsin 51 Michigan State 84, OHIo STATE 70 Tuesday's Game: Michigan State at Illinois Wednesday's Games: Michigan at Minnesota Indiana at Penn State Wisconsin at Iowa Northwestern at Purdue Saturday's Games: Minnesota at Michigan State Penn State at Northwestern Michigan at Iowa Indiana at Purdue Ohio State at Wisconsin Courtney Sims did more than just score the game-winning hoop in Michi- * gan's 64-63 win over Purdue. Sims grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked five shots to go along with his 11 points, which included the game-winning basket with 1.4 seconds left. "I can't say enough about Courtney Sims," Michigan coach Tommy Amak- er said. "To play the way he did against a team like Purdue is huge for Court- ney's confidence." And that confidence is on the rise. The freshman scored a career-high 16 points against Iowa last Wednesday. After that, Sims saw an increase in his playing time on Saturday, some- thing which may have been partially responsible for his rebounding per- formance. The freshman had been playing around 20 to 25 minutes per game this season. But in the victory over Purdue, he played eight more minutes than his previous career high, spending 37 minutes on the court. "I think (my minutes increased) because I was rebounding," Sims said. ROSEN Continued from Page 1B six games. And most importantly, they snatched the momentum back when it really counted, even after they didn't convert at the charity stripe. "We didn't wilt down the stretch," "I think (Amaker) takes me out some- times because I don't rebound or play good defense. But I think I was a good defensive presence (on Saturday)." Sims's defensive contribution goes beyond the numbers in the boxscore. The freshman blocked five shots, but he appeared to alter twice as many. Many times, especially in the first half, Purdue players drove towards the rim only to see Sims in their path. Those players had to change their shots to avoid being blocked. "I was just trying to be a defensive presence;' Sims said. "I think I do that a lot, even when I don't have as many blocks. (Altering shots) is what I focus on all the time." At 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, it would be more accurate to describe Sims as "lanky" than "bulky." But Sims said that he is feeling more confident lately because he is beginning to feel more at ease with the physicality of the college game - an aspect of the game which he struggled with at first. "(I'm) getting used to playing bigger people and not getting pushed around," Sims said. The freshman said that he used to have trouble maintaining his position ball the length of the court through a scrambling defense. He even knocked away the final pass to seal the deal as time expired. "To go 10 minutes without a field goal, that's not good," Horton said. "But I think we showed a lot of character and heart by being able to battle back and still win the game" when trying to box out defenders. Because he wasn't used to the physical environment, he was easily pushed under the basket when going for rebounds. But on Saturday, Sims held his ground and showed that he wouldn't be out-muscled. With his 11 points and 15 boards against Purdue, Sims recorded one of two double-doubles for the Wolverines on Saturday. Senior Bernard Robinson chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the other. These were the only double-doubles recorded by Michigan in any game this season. "We've definitely stepped up as far as getting on the glass," Robinson said. "(Our) coaches have been harping us about getting on the glass, especially the last couple games, and I think we've responded well to it." Sims's rebounding total on Saturday blew away his previous career-high of six, which he grabbed against Oakland on Nov. 21 and again against Bowling Green on Dec. 13. The freshman just missed equaling his career high in blocks (six), which he also recorded against Oakland. Offutisiy The Michigan basketball team has haa a number of sfttches durng the BNg Tea sea- she nt seeted bard to eome b~ A t6ett kdf va nse againtP.de 6i are a few of the other breakcdown trough eight games tof te cofeec scedude. at Michign State, Jam. 1$ - Nina-pius mhnUt.snn fish? goals Score befare sttetcht Mchigan leads 19-5 .Ire ae RSesult Mihigan State rolled to a 71-54 win. Mchian b ng ariund