Thursday November 18, 2004 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com PORTS 9A . ...... ......... . .. Back to the Big Apple Michi gan moves to NIT semis By Megan Kolodgy Daily Sports Writer With just under three minutes left in last night's game, Colorado was charging at the Wolverines with a tenacity not befitting a team that had been down by double digits since the opening of the first half. Now within eight, the Buffaloes blocked shots in the paint, double- and triple-teamed Michigan's big men and stuck to the guards in the backcourt. For a moment, the Wolverines looked concerned. But just for a moment. After Colorado turned the ball over on a simple inbounds play, Michigan junior tri-captain Lester Abram capitalized by lobbing the ball to sopho- more Brent Petway on the other side of the court. Petway threw down an incendiary dunk that both ignited the crowd and boosted the Wolverines' advantage back to a more comfortable double-digit status on the way to Michigan's 69-60 win over Colorado in the second round of the Preseason NIT Tournament. "They were just not quitting," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I was very impressed with that." The highlight of the Michigan stat sheet last night was undoubtedly guard Dion Harris's career-high 24 points, which he capped off with a pair of free throws in the waning seconds of the game. Harris went 7-for-7 on free throws and shot dynamically from the floor, with nine points coming from three- pointers and several others off of jump shots. "Coach talked to me," Harris said. "He just wanted me to be a really confident player this year, and just more aggressive. So I think that's what I'm trying to do - and I think it started tonight." Michigan sophomore Courtney Sims struggled against Colorado's overbearing defense under the rim. His efforts earned him a double-double - 10 points and 10 rebounds - but the 6-foot-11 for- ward made just five of his 16 attempted field goals on the evening, due largely to Buffalo Julius Ash- by's six blocks, which tied Colorado's single-game record for blocks in a road game. But when a free throw from Colorado's Marcus Hall and a basket from outside the arc by Rich- ard Roby brought the Buffaloes back within. strik- ing distance, they coighed it up' again o another avoidable inbounds error. Junior Daniel Horton snatched the ball, and blew across half court for Blue can prove it belongs at the top BRIAN SCHICK Schick Happens Frank Sinatra might want to "start spreadin' the news" that the Michigan basketball team is heading back to Madison Square Gar- den - but this time for the Preseason NIT final four. "I want to be a part of it, New York, New York..." And assuming that Wright State won't pull off a stunning upset of No. 10 Arizona tonight, the Wolverines will play one of the premier programs in college basketball. The Michigan players and coaches have said that this is a great oppor- tunity for Michigan and a chance to play against some quality opponents. While this is true, just playing against Arizona and being competitive against the Wildcats are two completely dif- ferent things. Making the triumphant return to the Garden is a great achieve- ment, but if the Wolverines continue to keep playing erratically - the way they have in the early going this season - just making it to New York might not seem like such a great achievement. The Wolverines need to show they belong there. Looking at the two NIT games so far, it was a tale of two halves for Michigan against Binghamton on Monday. The Bearcats looked as if they'd play the spoiler, jumping out to a double-digit lead. A solid second half from Dion Harris and Daniel Horton helped whittle away the lead at little bit at a time, and Michigan pulled away to secure the win. Tonight, the Wolverines looked like they'd send Colorado packing before five minutes elapsed. But Michigan couldn't extend its 15-point halftime lead, and eventually surrendered 35 points in the second half. There were several instances down the stretch when it appeared that Colorado might have stolen the momentum from the Crisler Arena crowd. Granted, Michi- gan kept finding ways to keep the Buf- faloes at bay, but it was too close for comfort. old New York... " It appears that each game has fea- tured one half in which Michigan looks like it can make a serious run at the Big Ten championship this year and can hang with the elite teams in college basketball. The other half is plagued with careless passing, bad turnovers and questionable shot selection, which would be good enough for the Postseason NIT. The most frustrating aspect of the first two games is seeing flashes of a great team trying to get past inconsistent play. I have no doubt that the Wolverines have the talent to give Arizona a great game a week from tonight, but it will take two halves playing like the team we saw in the first half tonight and the second half against Binghamton. I'd hate to see people start referring to this team as one that could give a good team just one good half. After all, this team has accomplished so much over the past few years, emerging from controversy and making steady steps each season, culminating in the Postseason NIT championship. To not cement Michigan's return to being a quality program on a national stage would be disheartening. "IfI can make it there, I'll make it anywhere ... " This might seem like an exag- geration, but I feel that this trip to New York will have a big impact on how the rest of the season will go for Michigan. If the Wolverines can put together a game with two consistently solid halves to make the perfect game - even in defeat - this team can be proud of its effort and show it belongs in the top- 25 with the Arizonas of the basketball world. But if the Wolverines come out flat and have lackluster performances, it could be a serious blow to the team's confidence - especially heading into the Georgia Tech game on Nov. 30 - from which the team may not recover and drop out of the Big Ten race. I really don't see the latter situation happening from what I've seen so far; this club recognizes the importance and even if they won't say, the play- ers have had their eye on the potential matchup with Arizona since the NIT schedule was announced. It seems this team is ready for a big game on a national stage to show that it is ready to make a name for itself and it won't back down from any challenge. With apologies to Old Blue Eyes, Dion Harris had a stellar night, scoring 24 points, including nine points from shots outside the arc. a layup. He missed, but Sims was right behind him. Sims grabbed the rebound, and threw down a put-back dunk. "(What was good was) Courtney not standing back and watching one of his teammates going for what he thinks is going to be a made layup," Amaker said. "He followed up - and he was the only one on the floor who did it. It showed a lot of hustle." Despite Harris's big night, and the Wolverines's 15-for-8I'free~h'lr6\( shootingMichigin once again had difficulty stringing two quality halves together. Although it shot out of the blocks with a 24-8 run and held Colorado to 29-percent shooting in the first half, the Buffaloes outscored Michigan in the second half. "I wish we would have protected our lead bet- ter," Amaker said. "We were disappointed with that. And we turned some over late, and we got nervous a bit - we got riled at the end. So that's something to work on for us." Another low point for Michigan came in the final minutes, when junior tri-captain Graham Brown was elbowed in the face, and had to leave the court. His status remains unknown. Amaker said that he may need stitches and might have had a concussion. Harris busts out with career-high 24 By Eric Ambinder Daily Sports Writer prove (that I can be the best)." Harris had a career-high 24 points last night against Colorado in Mich- igan's 69-60 win. When Michigan coach Tommy Amaker asked each of his basketball players to write a paragraph about how he wanted to be remembered this sea- son, Dion Harris wrote that he wanted to be the best player on the team. And through the first two games this season, Harris is living up to his goal. "He believes in me," Harris said of his coach. "I'm just trying to YESTERDAY'S GAME Colorado (60) And not only did the sophomore light it up offensively, he played his most com- plete as a Wolverine. Harris finished with a career-high five Y"A© / MIN Eddy 28 Osborn 6 Arrington 15 Obazuaye 13 Roby 35 Ashby 33 Copeland 19 McGee 13 Hall 24 Freeman 9 King-Stockton 5 TEAM Totals 200 FG M-A 0-5 0-3 0-1 1-3 6-12 4-11 3-6 0-2 7-12 1-3 1-1 FT REB M-A 0-T A 2-2 3-6 4 0-0 1-2 2 0-0 1-2 0 0-0 0-2 0 4-4 0-5 1 0-0 5-111 0-0 0-4 1 0-2 0-0 1 2-2 0-3 3 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 1-1 1 0-1 F PTS 2 2 0 0 3 0 1 2 1 18 1 8 4 9 10 1 3 16 1 3 0 2 steals, was 7-for-7 from the line and dished out four assists. "We needed (Harris's strong effort) tonight because our inside game wasn't as strong as we need it to be," sophomore Brent Petway said. "And Dion made some tough shots tonight. He made some great shots. He lifted us a lot with those threes he hit." Harris connected on his first of three triples to put Michigan up 19- 6 early in the first half, and had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting before the intermission. "I thought Dion Harris's play was just tremendous," Amaker said. "I thought his overall floor game for us has been as good as it's been since he's been here. And it couldn't have come at a better time for us." On Monday night against Bing- hamton, Harris scored 14 second- half points and keyed the decisive 12-0 run in Michigan's 59-46 win. BROWN AND OUT: Late in the second half, senior center Graham Brown was hit below the eye by an errant elbow. Brown staggered toward the sideline in a daze and proceeded to lay down with his hands over his head. "He got hit under the eye and it kind of knocked him out for awhile," said junior Chris Hunter, who served as Brown's crutch on the walk to the locker room. "He was a little bit dazed. We asked him if he was ready to go, and he said he was alright. Hopefully he'll be better by tomorrow because we need him to play hard." Amaker was uncertain about Brown's status after the game, say- ing that Brown may have suffered a slight concussion and needed stitch- es below his eye. Before the injury, Brown went 3-of-6 for six points and grabbed seven rebounds. FAST START: Against Binghamton on Monday night, Michigan trailed 22-12 early and had to play great defense in the second half to beat the Bearcats. Last night, however, the Wolverines got an early jump on the Buffaloes. Michigan opened with a 14-2 run, forcing several early steals that turned into easy transition buckets. The Wolverines were able to stretch that lead to 15 by halftime, leading 40-25. "I think the start of the game for us was one of the keys," Amaker said. "We got out of the blocks real early and put them on their heels. We had opportunities, and I think we converted them. I was really impressed with that." Sophomore Daniel Horton said Michigan's fast start was related to how the team practices. "We don't ease into it," Horton said. "Once we get going in prac- tice, we get it going full speed. That gets us accustomed to get it going in the game. A lot of teams like to ease into the game. We come out swing- ing. That's one thing I like about this program - that we do it from the tap." Brian Schick can be reached ai "I'll make a brand new start of it, in bschick@umich.edu. RYAN WEINER/Daily The Wolverines need to put together two consecutive solid halves in order to beat Arizona, which could be a major springboard game for the rest of the season. 23-59 8-10 8-33 14 17 60 _ I ... AR M 1.1 FG%: 39.0. FT%: 80.0. 3-point FG: 6-18, .333 (Copeland 3-4, Roby 2-4, Free- man 1-3, Eddy 0-2, Hall 0-2, Osborn 0-2, McGee 0-1). Blocks: 12 (Ashby 6, Arrington, Copeland, Eddy, Freeman, King-Stockman, Roby) Steals: 11 (Roby 4, Ashby 3, Eddy 2, Arrington, Hall). Turn- overs: 19 (Ashby 4, Arrington 3, Hall 3, Copeland 2, Freeman 2, Osborn 2, Roby 2, Eddy). Technical fouls: None. MICHIGAN (69) MIN' Abram 39 Brown 22 Sims 29 Horton 36 Harris 38 Petway 23 Hunter 6 Harrell 5 Coleman 2 N 3 a i 3 3 FG M-A 3-10 3-6 5-16 3-10 7-12 4-8 0-1 0-0 0-0 FT M-A 6-7 0-0 0-0 1-2 7-7 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 R EB 0-T 2-7 2-7 4-10( 0-3 1-2 1-4 0-0 0-0+ 1-3+ A 3 1 0} 6 4 2 0 0 0 F PTS 0 12 3 6 0 10 4 8 1 24 0 9 1 0 1 0 00 BIG TEN BURRITO NOW AVAILABLE: NORTH CAMPITS u vUnv ----~ uv ..,. ..... .... ...- ..