Wednesday December 1, 2004 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com ThE Atdirga BJtil PORTFS 10 . .. ........ ... - -- ----- . . . ........... .. Rambli' Wrecked 'M' crashes and burns in Atlan ta By Josh Holman Daily Sports Writer ATLANTA - In the span of a week, Michigan played three games against NCAA Tournament-hope- ful teams on national television. In that span, it has struggled to prove that it is a tournament-worthy team itself. No. 3 Georgia Tech (4-0) blast- ed the Wolverines (3-3) 99-68 last night at Alexander Memorial GEORGIATECH 99 Coliseum. It was the third straight loss for the Wolverines, who dropped two games last week in the Preseason NIT in New York. "We are concerned about our team," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "We are concerned about the psyche when you lose a ball game with this point differential and the margin of victory by Tech." The Yellow Jackets dominated in every aspect of the game. Most notably, they turned what is thought to be Michigan's strongest weapon - its backcourt - into its Achilles' heel. Guards Daniel Horton and Dion Harris, Michigan's leading scorers this season, combined for just 12 points. Harris scored eight points on 3-of-13 shooting in 30 minutes of play. Horton's play was most disap- pointing of all, as the junior scored just four points and fouled out with 11:33 remaining in the game. The dismal night from Horton and Harris left Amaker more than just concerned about his backcourt for the rest of the season. "I thought (our) floor game was horrendous," Amaker said. "And we aren't going to be a good team or even have a chance of competing at the level of the teams and programs we are going to have to face if those kids don't play better, make better decisions and, at the very least, (be) out there on the court." On the other side of the court, Georgia Tech's back- court looked absolutely stellar. Guards Will Bynum, B.J. Elderand Jarrett Jack scoreda combined 62 points, with Elder leading the way with 27 points. The senior turned in a shooting night that most can only dream of. He finished 10-of-12 from the field and 7-of- 9 from 3-point range. Bynum did his share of damage as well, shoot- ing 8-for-12 while adding three treys of his own. "We shot the ball well," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "When you're making threes, it gives you a boost. And in this building, as loud as it gets, Guards flounder in. critical matchups BRIAN SCHICK Schick Happens TLANTA - When the Michigan basketball team aw that it would face Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this season, it had to know it would be in for a huge challenge. The Yellow Jackets lost last season's NCAA championship game to Connecticut last season, and returned the same core from that team. This week in practice, the players wanted to try and match the intensity and quickness of Georgia Tech in hopes of keeping the score respectable. Needless to say, last night's 99-68 thumping at the hands of Georgia Tech showed that this team isn't capable of playing against high-caliber teams at this point in the season. I doubt many people thought the game would be close, but it seemed the Yellow Jackets could do no wrong. They went on a 20-0 run at one point in the first half, shot 57 percent from behind the arc, forced Michigan's guards into foul trouble and always kept momentum on their side. No matter what Michigan coach Tommy Amaker tried to stop the seemingly endless stream of points, it backfired. When he tried to put in a big lineup, B.J. Elder and Will Bynum torched the Wolverines from behind the arc (a combined 10-for-14) and Georgia Tech's defense went into a zone and dared Michigan's guards to shoot. When hetried to go to the up-tempo lineup with more guards, 7-foot-1 center Luke Schen- scher pounded the ball inside, totaling 10 points and nine boards. Amaker was obviously distraught at the postgame press conference. He had a look of stunned disbelief. "Everything we tried, they had an answer for," Amaker said. "You have to give them credit for what they do well - pretty much everything well." But it wasn't just Georgia Tech firing on all cylinders that made this game a rout, as Michigan played like a team in a three-game skid. Michigan's starting guard duo of Daniel Horton and Dion Harris got into foul trouble early, and were practically a non factor, chipping in for a combined six second-half points. Typically Amaker doesn't call out his players, but he didn't hesitate to call the play of Harris and Horton "horrendous." That may sound a little harsh, but in an up-tempo game like this one, Michigan needed strong floor leaders, and the duo's presence was definitely lacking at times. "There is no question that those two starting guards have to recognize their value and their responsibility to our team," Amaker said. At this point in the season, the guards have clearly been the anchor of the team thus far. This was the first time either Harris or Horton didn't finish with double figures in scoring. One of the two has led the team in scoring in all games but one this year. With the stakes as high as they were last night, and the team needing them the most, they quiet. "We didn't get into a good flow as a unit," Horton said. "It seemed like every other possession, they were running down and getting layups and dunks. It was tough to keep up with them." With Lester Abram's status still up in the air (he's technically still listed as "day to day"), the pressure on both Harris and Horton won't go down any time soon. Both players indicated that they wanted to put this game behind them as soon as possible and start to focus on this Sat- urday's game against Notre Dame. But I wouldn't write off this game yet. Yes, Georgia Tech put on a shooting clinic and dominated every aspect of last night's contest. But it appears as if Michigan has been playing progressively worse in its past three games - and it won't get a break this weekend, either. Both Amaker and players indicated See SCHICK, Page 11 Michigan sophomore guard Dion Harris fights for the ball it's a major boost when you shoot the ball." The home crowd was rocking early and often. Michigan kept pace with the Yellow Jackets for the first four minutes of the game, trailing just 10-9 early on. But then the flood gates broke open. The Yellow Jackets ripped off a 20-0 run out of the media timeout to open up a 30-9 lead. They scored nine points in under a minute and a half. Michigan managed to stop the bleeding with a 3-pointer from Harris and a basket from Horton, but the remedy was only temporary. Georgia Tech continued the onslaught for the in yesterday's defeat. remainder of the first half. Behind the hot shoot- ing of Bynum and Elder, the Yellow Jackets piled on the points. The tandem hit seven of its 13 3- pointers in the first half. As a team, Georgia Tech shot 64.2 percent from the field and 56.5 percent from behind the 3-point line. Jack sank abu ckta'the half came'to a close, putting the Yellow Jackets up 59-32. It was a hole more than large enough to bury Michigan. "It's very frustrating - a very disappointing. loss," Horton said. "I can't even put it into words how frustrating it is." Stenavich arrested for disorderly conduct Last minute costs Blue By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Writer From staff and wire reports MARSHFIELD, Wis. lineman Adam Stenavich by his hometown police for disorder- ly conduct after an incident in a local bar, authorities said yesterday. No formal charg- es had been filed against Stenavich, 21, an offensive tackle for the Big <4 ; Ten champion and Sten Rose Bowl-bound Wolverines. - Michigan was arrested trict Attorney Todd Wolf said his office has a 45-day policy on deciding whether to file criminal charges in such cases. Marshfield Police Chief Joe Stroik said Stenavich, a friend of Stroik's family, was an upstanding young man growing up and played with Stroik's two sons on the Marshfield High School football team. "From our perspective, depending on the violation committed, it does not matter who you are or what relation- ships you have," Stroik said. "Many people make mistakes. Sometimes alcohol plays a part, but people make mistakes. They pay their dues, and hopefully that's the end of it." Michigan sports information direc- tor Bruce Madej said team officials had no immediate comment, but said coach Lloyd Carr planned to release a statement today. "I'm not entirely familiar with the situation," Michigan athletic director Bill Martin said. "I have heard about that. That would be a matter the athletic department and football program would review and investigate first. I think that's the stage we are in right now." Stenavich could not be reached for comment. With just over four minutes left, the Michigan women's basketball team was in control. As freshman Janelle Cooper dribbled up court, Drake guardLDSAKEhr d o Linda Sayavongchanh tried to MCIA 0 force her out-of-bounds. But Cooper protected the ball, tiptoeing along the line to pull away from Sayavongchanh and set up a shot for freshman Ta'shia Walker. Cooper grabbed one of her three offensive rebounds off Walker's miss and hit a layup, giving the Wolverines a nine-point advantage and their second-largest lead of the game. But her efforts weren't enough. Despite leading for the first 19 minutes and 51 sec- onds of the second half, Michigan (2-2) suffered a heartbreaking 61-60 loss to Drake last night. "We just kind of let a lead slip away by over-think- ing what was going on, like, 'Oh, they're not going to come back, they're not going to come back,' " for- ward Kelly Helvey said. "I give it to Drake - they battled the whole time. They knew that they weren't going to lose, and we didn't have that." Trailing 56-47 with 3:36 remaining, Say- avongchanh went on a tear, draining a jumpshot before setting up a 3-point shot for guard Lindsay Whorton on the Bulldogs' next possession, which cut Michigan's lead to four. Cooper answered by sinking an off-balance shot, but Sayavongchanh notched her game-high fifth assist off another Whorton three-pointer to pull Drake within three. "They made some adjustments, and then we just started letting them dribble-penetrate after they'd make a pass out," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. "That really was our frustration - when you're allowing dribble penetration to the rim and easy shots, that's really not very effective." After point guard Becky Flippin knocked down two free throws to give the Wolverines a 60-55 advantage, Sayavongchanh drove into the lane on two straight possessions, scoring a basket each time to cut the Michigan lead to one. Then, with just nine sec- onds left, Drake forward Jill Martin hit an inside shot to give the Bulldogs their first lead since 9:12 remain- ing in the first half. Following a Michigan timeout, Cooper took the inbounds pass and sent the ball to Flippin, who found a well-guarded senior Tabitha Pool just inside the 3- point arc. Pool forced up a shot as time expired, but it went just left of the basket to give Drake the victory. "We knew (Pool) was going to take the last-second shot - we just hoped it would be a difficult shot," Drake coach Amy Stephens said. "We wanted to stick to her like glue." Pool finished with a game-high 21 points on 9- for-16 shooting, but did not score in the final five minutes. That drought was representative of the Wol- verines' play throughout the game, as they started flat and allowed Drake (3-1) to score 20 points in the last 10 minutes of the game. "We just came off a big win - we should have been energized and ready to go," Helvey said. "Any other day, we'd beat that team. They're good and everything, but on our home floor, we should beat that team." avich He was seen by an employee of the Elixir Nite Club urinating on the floor in a second-floor area sometime after 1 a.m. Saturday, according to a police report cited by the Marshfield News-Herald. The report said Stenavich refused to leave, and one of the club's owners called police who escorted him out- side. Police said he loudly cursed offi- cers and continued disruptive behavior after his arrest. Police recommended state charges of disorderly conduct. Wood County Dis- TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily Cheryl Burnett was disappointed after last night's loss. TRUE OR FAJSE? ~ Animals have languages much like human languages ~ Deaf children go through the same stages of language development as hearing children ~ English is like so degenerating before our eyes (ears) ~ Inuit languages have hundreds of words for snow ~ The average high school graduate has approximately 45,000 Cooper's play sparks By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer Janelle Cooper certainly isn't the biggest player on the floor. But the 5-foot-10 freshman has a knack for putting herself in the right place at the right time. After opening the season with a 13-point, eight-rebound per- formance against Alabama, the for- hustle, I can help my team." But last night, Cooper's scoring was a major fac- tor, and allowed the Wolverines to maintain a lead for much of the game. She also made the most of her opportunities with the basketball, going 5-for-6 from the field. Perhaps most importantly, Cooper showed tremendous energy on a night when Michigan strug- gled to maintain its focus. VOlVerines have an answer defensively. Drake poured in 14 points in the last four minutes, allowing them to fight back from a nine-point deficit. "When we're giving up 52 percent in the second half, that means we're not doing what we need to do defensively," Burnett said. "(Most) of their scores were dribble penetrations to the rim. We just can't afford to let that happen against our defense."