GENNARO FILICE:
Videogame dynasties
help to pass the cold
months of winter.
PAGE 3B
The SportsMonday Column
GROWING UP FAST
The Michigan women's basketball
team went out West and stunned
UC-Santa Barbara on Friday night.
PAGE 3B
SIDE OUT
Disappointment marked the final homestand of
the season, as the Michigan volleyball team fell
to Ohio State and Penn State over the weekend.
PAGE 6B
SpoRTsN46NDAY
November 29, 2004
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Arizona 61, Michigan 60 (OT)
Providence 72, Michigan 63
Blue drops a pair in NIT
for nothing
By Matt Singer
Daily Sports Writer
NEW YORK - Prior to Friday's Preseason
NIT consolation game at Madison Square Gar-
den, Providence sophomore Dwight Brewington
made a bold prediction.
"The last thing he said before we went out on
the court was, 'We're not going 0-2 down here,' "
Providence coach Tim Welsh said.
Unfortunately for Michigan, Brewington was
able to back up his words. The 6-foot-5 guard
poured in 23 points and added seven boards, lead-
ing the Friars (4-1) to a 72-63 victory over the
Wolverines (3-2).
The defeat came on the heels of Michigan's
demoralizing 61-60 overtime loss on Wednesday
to No. 18 Arizona (3-2), capping a disappoint-
ing Thanksgiving weekend for the Wolverines.'
In both matchups, the Wolverines' terrible free-
throw shooting contributed to their downfall.
Michigan shot just 52.9 percent from the line in
the Arizona game and followed that performance
with an even more dreadful 47.4 percent against
Providence.
"We shot horrendously from the foul line,"
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "So I think
any time you're struggling to score, and then you
get to the foul line and you can't cash in, it's very
deflating."
Despite the Wolverines' poor performance
from the charity stripe, they were in position to
win on Friday until Providence exploded midway
through the second half. With Michigan nursing
a 46-42 lead, the Friars rattled off 14 unanswered
points in less than three minutes to bury the Wol-
verines. During that stretch, Providence ran the
floor with reckless abandon, turning Michigan's
turnovers and forced shots into points.
The Friars punctuated their rally in electrifying
fashion. After giving Providence an eight-point
lead with a tip-in off the offensive glass, Brew-
ington picked off junior Daniel Horton's pass. He
then dribbled up the right sideline and tossed a
perfect alley-oop to sophomore Gerald Brown,
whose emphatic dunk brought the Garden crowd
to its feet and gave the Friars a 56-46 lead.
"It's nice to run," Welsh said. "But if you run
to the end line and then fall over the finish line,
it's no good. But we've got guys that can finish,
and (Brown's) one guy that can finish against any
size player."
After Amaker called a timeout, Horton tried
to put the Wolverines back on track by drilling
a 3-pointer. On Michigan's very next possession,
Horton dished to sophomore Brent Petway, whose
tomahawk jam cut the Providence lead to 56-51.
But that's as close as the Wolverines would come.
Brewington scored seven points in the last three min-
utes and 15 seconds to help keep Michigan at bay.
The loss was surprising considering the rela-
tively weak offensive performance of Providence's
2004 All-American Ryan Gomes. Michigan fresh-
man Ronald Coleman made the first start of his
career and spent most of the night matched up with
See NIT, Page 5B
AP PHOTO
Junior Daniel Horton dives for a loose ball with Providence guard Donnie McGrath In the second half of the Wolverines' consolation game loss.
MINNESOTA 5, MICHIGAN 1
WISCONNN 3, MICHICAN 1
Icers embarrassed
in Showcase sweep
By Gabe Edelson
Daily Sports Writer
MADISON- It wasn't exactly the type
of weekend most would expect from the
top-ranked hockey team in the country.
No. 1 Michigan (7-1-0 CCHA, 9-4-1
overall) appeared overwhelmed against
No. 2 Wisconsin (7-3-0 WCHA, 10-4-0)
and dropped a 3-1 decision on Saturday at
the Kohl Center. The previous night, the
Wolverines fell at No. 3 Minnesota (6-2-
0 WCHA, 10-3-0), 5-1. It was the second
straight year Michigan was swept in the
College Hockey Showcase.
But Michigan coach Red Berenson
wasn't so shocked at his team's consecu-
tive losses.
"We didn't know if we would come in
and have a good weekend or not," Beren-
son said. "We didn't know how good we
were. We would've had to be really lucky
to get by these games. "
On Saturday, Wisconsin captain Adam
Burish came up with the game-winning
goal at 11:10 of the second period. With
the Badgers on the power play, forward
Joe Pavelski moved the puck to defense-
man Jeff Likens at the bottom of the right
circle. Likens fed a cross-ice pass to Bur-
ish, who tapped in his third goal of the
season from the left side of the crease,
beating Michigan goalie Al Montoya
stick side.
The Badgers had taken a 1-0 lead 12:56
into the opening period. After Michigan
forward David Rohlfs turned the puck
over deep in his own zone, Wisconsin for-
ward Nick Licari took the puck and sent it
to Jake Dowell, who was waiting in front
of the Michigan net. Dowell bested Mon-
toya for his seventh goal of the season.
But it took less than six minutes for the
Wolverines to knot the score. Freshman
Chad Kolarik beat Badger goalie Bernd
Bruckler low to the stick side after tak- -
ing a pass from junior Jeff Tambellini
while streaking down the ice. Following
a slashing penalty on Wisconsin's Ryan
MacMurchy with under a minute to go in
the first period, the momentum was with
Michigan.
Despite entering the second frame
short-handed, the Badgers responded.
After killing off MacMurchy's penalty
and fighting through another man disad-
vantage when Tom Gilbert was called for
tripping, Michigan forward Milan Gajic
was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking.
Burish capitalized with his game-winner.
"We didn't wilt," Wisconsin coach
Mike Eaves said of his team's resiliency
in the second. "We came out and had a
great start to that period."
The Badgers put the game out of reach
six minutes later at 17:20. MacMurchy
and Davis Drewiske assisted on Andrew
Joudrey's short-handed goal. Joudrey
skated into the Michigan zone on the
right side, cut to the high slot, and fired
the puck between two Michigan play-
ers before beating Montoya glove side.
The goal gave Wisconsin a 3-1 lead that
would hold up as the final score.
"The short-handed goal was a huge
See SHOWCASE, Page 4B
AP PHOTO
Wisconsin's Adam Burish tips the game-winning goal past Michigan goalie Al Montoya on Saturday night. The Badgers beat the Wolverines 3-1 to complete the WCHA's sweep of
Michigan at the College Hockey Showcase - Michigan dropped a 5-1 decision to Minnesota on Friday.
NCAA VOLLEYBALL OPENING ROUNDS
The Michigan volleyball team - despite being swept by Ohio State and Penn State
over the weekend - received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament yesterday.
The Wolverines' first two matches (should they advance) will be played at Texas.
MIchigan (19-12)
Gregory Gym
Friday, 5 p.m. CST
0 VOLLEYBALL
Wolverines get a bid to the dance
By Stephanie Wright
Daily Sports Writer
It's been a season full of ups and downs for the
Michigan volleyball team.
After winning 14 of its first 16 matches - the
best start in school history - Michigan lost six of
loss to Penn State.
"I am confident that we can compete with any top-
10 team in the nation. I have no doubt that we can be
successful."
Michigan coach Mark Rosen credits his team's 3-0
win at Northwestern a week ago for securing its tour-
nament berth, stressing that it was a win Michigan
Rice (25-4) lost to Nevada in the semifinals of the
Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Even
though the Owls play in a weaker conference, they
took then-No. 1 Minnesota to five games in a 3-2
loss in September.
Rosen recognizes it will not be easy for Michigan
to win the match.
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