January 12,2004 e 9ll[icl igttn 3 ttil SPORTSN4ONDAY SECTION B - ------------- 1- 1 11 1 i iplalmll Maized and confused Indiana 59, MICHIGAN 57 Michigan nearly finishes 16-point comeback against needy Hoosiers By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer On a day it honored former All- American Phil Hubbard for his dedica- tion, the Michigan basketball team showed some of its own. But it was 25 minutes too late. Coming back from a 16-point second- half deficit, Michigan had the ball with numerous opportunities to win or tie the game in the final minute, but was unable to capitalize in a 59-57 loss to Indiana. Despite scoring just 19 points in the first half, the Wolverines got to within two after sophomore guard Daniel Horton drove the lane and scored with 54 seconds remaining. Following a defensive stop, Horton missed a 3- pointer from the corner, but Lester Abram recovered the rebound and called a timeout. Abram then drove the baseline and had his shot blocked by forward Sean Kline, but the ball rolled out of bounds, giving Michigan possession. The inbound pass was then tied up, resulting in a jump-ball situation. The Wolverines had the possession arrow, giving them one last chance. But sen- ior forward Bernard Robinson's jumper in the lane hit the front of the rim in the final seconds. "I think it was a good shot," said Robinson, who led the team with 16 points. "It didn't drop." The loss kills Michigan's (1-1 Big Ten, 10-3 overall) chances of gaining momentum to start the conference sea- son. The Wolverines play six of their next eight games on the road, including a trip to Michigan State next Saturday and games against co-conference lead- ers Wisconsin and Penn State the fol- lowing week. "We had an opportunity to put our- selves in a great position," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I'm dis- appointed that we can't seem to under- stand that." The Wolverines got themselves into an early hole early with their worst offensive half of the season. Their 9- for-32 shooting performance in the first half was 10 percent worse than any other first half they have had, putting See MEN, page 5B Despite an impressive rally, a loss is exactly what Cagers deserved CHRIS BURKE Goin' to work hat more could Michigan real- ly have asked for? Twenty-five minutes into yesterday's game against Indiana, the Wolverines looked as if they were going to be run out of their own gym. After an excruciating barrage of missed shots and poor offen- sive-possessions; Michigan4etnditself- trailing 41-25. Yet, somehow, with 30 seconds left, the Wolverines had the ball, down 59-57, with a chance to tie or win. Daniel Horton for three ... miss. Lester Abram down low ... blocked. Bernard Robinson from the free-throw line ... miss. Ballgame. And to be honest, Michigan didn't deserve the positive result that could've occurred had one of those shots fallen. In the books, yesterday's game will go down as a great Michigan rally that fell just short. In reality, the Wolverines inexplicably failed to show up for the first half against a reeling Indiana team, giving the Hoosiers-just enough life to build up that insurmountable 16-point cushion. "Because of how big this game was, we tried to get it all in one play," Michi- gan guard Dion Harris said. "Everyone was trying to make spectacular moves, and that's how we got off to a slow start." The phrase "slow start" doesn't even really begin to describe the Wolverines' initial performance. Michigan put together a collection of bricks that would've made Bob Vila drool, sinking just 9-of-32 shots in the first 20 minutes. The Wolverines put up a season-low 19 first-half points, six of which came in the game's opening four minutes. "Guys were playing on their own," forward Graham Brown said. "That's not a team game." See BURKE, page 5B RYAN WENER/Daily iffidlana guard Donald Perry drives to the basket and over Michigan center Graham Brown while the Maie Rage and sophomore guard Daniel Horton look on. Helminen scores four as icers tie for first place in CCHA MICHIGAN 3, Ohio State ; MICHIGAN 7, Ohio State I By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer Coach Red Berenson hoped he could energize two of his struggling marquee juniors -Dwight Helninen and Eric Nys- trom - by making them linesmates more than a month ago. At the end of Saturday night's 7-1 thrashing of the Buckeyes, all 6,859 fans at Yost Ice Arena knew the move was a success. It took Helminen just 48 seconds in Saturday's contest with the Buckeyes to begin his scoring campaign, which didn't stop until he had scored a career-high four goals. Nystrom electrified the crowd in a different way - with a heavyweight title bout against Ohio State's Nate Guenin in the second period. This came one night after the Wolverines had to overcome a 2-1 Ohio State lead to secure a 3-2 win. Helminen had been struggling to find the net, scoring just three goals through 20 games. After tallying 17 goals last season - good enough for third on the team - the Brighton native was ready for a breakout game. Helminen's hat trick plus one demonstrated his ability to be a threat to score during any situation, as he scored at even strength, on the powerplay and shorthanded. "Going into the game, I had the mentality to play tough defense because (on Friday) our line gave up a couple of bad goals," Helminen said. "We were looking to go out there and shut therm down defensively. That's when things started hap- pening for'us." Helminen backed up his desire to play better defense, as he scored his second goal on a great individual effort. The Ohio State defense was moving the puck out of the zone when Helminen swooped in and stole a lazy pass. With no one but Ohio State goaltender Mike Betz in front of him, Helminen froze the netminder with a nifty deke and flipped the puck over his left shoulder to make the score 4-1 early in the second period. "When you're playing hard like that, things happen," Berenson said. "(He found) the puck and good for him - he finally had a good offensive night, as well as a defensive night." Nystrom lined up on Helminen's left, and although he didn't have the offensive impact that Helminen did, Nystrom left a lasting impression for the Yost faithful. Late in the sec- ond period, Michigan had a comfortable 5-1 lead. Nystrom and Guenin collided in the corner and, in frustration, Guenin checked Nystrom across the face as the two came to blows. Even the two linesmen couldn't keep the combatants sepa- rated, and both punched for over a minute before being tossed. "They play a good chippy game, and I think our guys See BUCKEYES, page 4B DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Michigan goaltender Al Montoya, fresh off a gold-medal winning performance for the United States in the World Junior Championships, sends a message to Ohio State forward Daymen Bencharski. Smith's 33 leads 'M' to home win MICHIGAN 65, Indiana 59 By Ellen McGarrity Daily Sports Writer With 1:19 remaining in Saturday's women's basketball game against Indi- ana, center Jennifer Smith hit the jack- pot. Not only did the senior convert a 3-point play that stretched Michigan's lead to five, but she fouled out lofty 6- foot-7 Hoosier Sarah McKay. Smith's 33 points - marking the fourth time this season she has scored more than 30 - made the difference in Michigan's 65-59 victory at Crisler. Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett's apparent goal - "get the ball to Jen" - more aggressive. And when we told her that, she stepped up and did it." Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 9-7 overall) held the lead for much of the first half, but the Hoosiers (1-2, 8-6) always trailed close behind and even took the lead near the break in front of a crowd of 3,809. The Wolverines' scoring picked up in the second half with a 20-point per- formance from Smith. Senior Stephanie Gandy and Tabitha Pool also delivered, scoring in double digits, with 13 and 15 for the game, respectively. While Smith, Gandy and Pool have accounted for the majority of Wolverine scoring this season, it's a rare day when all Michigan 28 free-throw opportunities compared to their own 13. Twelve of Michigan's successful 23 free throws came from Smith, who had a perfect afternoon at the line. "They got to the free-throw line, we did not," Indiana coach Kathi Bennett said. "They made their free throws - if you look at the stats, that's it right there." Riding off points from forward Jenny DeMuth, Indiana rallied in the final min- utes. But sophomore Niki Reams and Pool kept Michigan safely ahead from the charity stripe in the final 20 seconds. The Wolverines may have only notched this win by a close six points, I