The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 6, 2004 - 5B
WHAT DID YOU SAY? SATURDAY'S SCORE
"He played to win (Saturday),
and we were able to Notre Dame60
win because of it."
- Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker on Daniel Horton's Michigan 61
play against Notre Dame.-
Team effort needed
to overcome injuries
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Dennis Latimore
(Notre Dame)
Senior forward Latimore led all
scorers with 18 points, and was able
to draw several fouls from Michigan's
forwards.
Daniel Horton
(Michigan)
While picking up two quick fouls in
the first half, Horton scored all of his
15 points in the second half, includ-
ing the game-winning layup.
man proved himself as a scoring threatr
for Michigan.
Take John Andrews. Looking at his
stat line (four points, two assists, two
steals), you might be thinking, "What
did he do?" While his four points might
seem unimpressive, his two baskets were
BRIAN SCHICK spectacular. The first one, in particular,{
showed his toughness and determination.
After crashing the boards on an errant,
didn't take long for Daniel Horton to 3-point shot, he managed to box out a
get the message. Notre Dame forward for the rebound,
After Michigan coach Tommy then pump-fake and execute a reverse-
Amaker called out the Wolverines' back- layup from behind the backboard.
court following Tuesday's 99-68 loss to In just his second start, Andrews
Georgia Tech, Saturday was a chance seemed to be finding his niche, and he
for Horton, as well as all his teammates, contributed 28 minutes of solid playing
to redeem himself and prove his impor- time.
tance to this team against another ranked Take Brent Petway. His ESPN
opponent on national TV. SportsCenter "Top-10 nominee" block
It also didn't take long for Amaker to at the end of the game was potentially
let him out of the doghouse. the game-saver, but he has shown signs
"I can't say enough about Daniel of improving the rest of his game this
Horton," Amaker said. "I thought his season as well. In his rap song "Number
toughness and his will were unbelievable 1," he seems proud to admit that all of
for us." his field goals last season were dunks.
Horton scored 15 points in Saturday's While everyone seems to love his abil-
thrilling 61-60 win over Notre Dame, ity to bring down the Crisler Arena roof
including the game-winning layup, in with an explosive dunk, Petway has been Sophomore Dion Harris was responsible fo
which he was fouled and completed the working on his post-up moves, and has Thomas was averaging 14 points per gam
k three-point play to seal the victory. been trying to perfect his jump- and
Horton didn't waste any time to prove hook-shots. This gives opposing play- "
his critics - including myself - com- ers another aspect of his electric play to H
pletely wrong. He proved that he can still worry about.
ycarry this team. I really believed his lead- Take Chris Hunter. He's not as flashy
ership was nonexistent against Georgia as Petway and not as strong as Courtney By Josh Holman
Tech, but he was clearly the man on Sat- Sims, but he's shown he can be a steady Daily Sports Writer
urday, as he scored Michigan's last four force in the frontcourt. Saturday's game
field goals (including two 3-pointers) and appeared to be more of an anomaly than Twelve points, four assists, 10 tur]
erased Notre Dame's 10-point second- the trend of his game this season, as he combined stat line delivered by Mic
half lead. The entire Michigan team also scored just three points. He had scored a combination of Dion Harris and Dani
sent a message that it can play a great combined 39 points in 61 minutes over day against Georgia Tech.
team game, something that has been the last four games (that'd be the equiva- On Saturday at Crisler Arena, a
missing from this season to this point. lent of 26 points per 40 minute game). combination turned in another disma
While the return of Horton's dynamic Having a guy that can come off the eight points, I1 assists, six turnovers.
leadership and steady play is cause for bench and make the most of his minutes line was recorded by Notre Dame's
celebration, losing Lester Abram for the by adding quick offense will prove to be Chris Thomas, not Harris and Horton
season brings back the cloud of doubt huge in the Big Ten season. The 6-foot-1 In Michigan's 61-60 win over th
around this year's team. Abram is Mich- forward is also shooting just below 80 Quinn and Thomas - Notre Dame's
igan's best all-around player. And while percent from the stripe this season. As ers - were reduced to nonfactors,
he will certainly be missed, Saturday's we saw in the final seconds on Saturday, and Horton, who bounced back from
game showed that the Michigan bench is that is a great asset for a forward to have. turned in top-notch defensive perform
more than capable of stepping up to fill I don't want to take anything away "You can see that their guards di
the void. The Notre Dame game was the from Horton's heroics. He was the player as they're capable of," Michigan coac
best example of a team victory, and that's of the game and the one guy all the play- said. "I thought our defense was trer
what it's going to take to be successful ers mentioned above looked to down that they're going to make some of t
this season. the stretch on Saturday. But it will take missed, butI like to think that we did
Take Ron Coleman. The lone fresh- a total team effort to be successful this to contain those two really good pl
man in this year's recruiting class, Cole- season, something that was lacking from court."
man was expected to be a role-player the Preseason NIT trip to New York and Thomas, a preseason All-Big East
and chip in some minutes while letting the Georgia Tech debacle. tion, shot just 1-for-13 from the fie
the starterstake a breather.It took him With Horton andthe rest of the team points came from a layup off a steal
awhile to find his game, but he picked firing on all cylinders, this Michigan first half. He also missed a series o
a good time to shine. He finished with squad might not be in as much trouble have helped seal the deal for Notre D
11 points, including two 3-pointers on without Abram as everyone thinks it the game - including the final shot
4-of-5 shooting. His play was especially could be. by Michigan forward Brent Petway.
crucial, since it was around the time On the other end of the floor, Hor
when Horton was in foul trouble early in Brian Schick can be reachedat game of the season. He scored 10 of N
the second half. Most importantly, Cole- bshick@mich.edu. points, including a layup and foul sh
Replacements ready to step up
By Josh Holman Coleman and sophomore John Andrews have played many of
Daily Sports Writer these minutes. Their performances Saturday may have boosted
their stock in the eyes of Amaker, who will now be looking for
With 13:55 remaining in the first half, Michigan coach a more permanent replacement for Abram.
Tommy Amaker looked down the bench and called for junior While the young pair struggled early this season, each turned
Lester Abram to enter the game. A small round of cheers began in his most productive performance of the year.
to spring up from the student section until the rest of the fans in Coleman drained 11 points, the second most for the Wolver-
the stands realized what was happening and joined in. ines behind guard Daniel Horton's 15. Ten of those points came
Abram saw his first action in four games. Unfortunately, in the first half, while his single second half point came on
it will be his last action for the rest of the a crucial free throw during the closing minutes of Michigan's
season. He's been sidelined with a shoulder one-point victory.
injury from last season that he re-aggra- Prior to Saturday, Coleman's season total from the field
vated in Michigan's Preseason NIT match- was a paltry 3-of-22. But against Notre Dame, his game came
up against Colorado. Saturday's test run together. He shot 4-for-5 and hit two 3-pointers.
proved unsuccessful when the Wolverines "I've been feeling good about my shot, no matter if I miss it
later learned that Abram would be lost for or make it," Coleman said. "I've been missing shots, buttI still
the season. know that I am a shooter and I can shoot."
Abram was ineffective in his appearance. He failed to score Andrews started the game in place of Abram and posted four
any points and finished the game with just two rebounds in points, two assists and two steals. But his most memorable stat
nine minutes of play. may have been his lone rebound, which came in the first half.
But with Abram in the lineup, the Wolverines are 3-0. With- Andrews soared in from behind a mass of big men on the
out Abram, they're 1-3. offensive glass, snatched away the board, took one dribble and
"It was just great to have him back on the floor," Amaker went back up for the putback, eliciting a considerable amount
said before knowing Abram would be done for the season. "For of cheers from the crowd.
our team to see him in uniform and have a presence out there "I like to contribute any way I can," Andrews said. "And
for us was certainly probably worth it." right now, Lester's hurting. He's a battler. He's a warrior. So
FILLING IN: In Abram's absence, Amaker has had to look I'm just trying to keep his spot warm and do what I can to help
deep down his bench to try and fill the void. Freshman Ron the team."
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RYAN WEINER/Daily
1 guarding Notre Thomas, and Harris f Thomas 1 just two points.
coming Into Saturday.
iifton to 1
sovers. That's the
higan's backcourt
el Horton on Tues-
formidable guard
l performance -
But this time that
Chris Quinn and
1.
e Fighting Irish,
two leading scor-
thanks to Harris
rough games and
ances.
dn't score as well
h Tommy Amaker
mendous. I'm sure
he shots that they
some good things
ayers in the back-
First Team selec-
ld. His only two
at the end of the
f shots that could
lame at the end of
that was blocked
ton had his finest
Iichigan's final 11
ot that pushed the
Wolverines ahead by one with 20 seconds remaining.
"If you want to find someone that wants to be in that
situation - that wants to take that big shot and has
proven he can make the big shot - then you want Dan-
iel Horton," Amaker said.
Just as vital, the junior committed two turnovers, a
far cry from his eight against Georgia Tech.
"I just wanted to be solid with the ball," Horton said.
"I've been handling the ball well, but my passing and
my turnovers have really hurt this team. I just wanted
to come out and concentrate and do better in that area."
Horton didn't have much of a chance to concentrate in
the first half. Foul trouble kept him out for much of the
opening frame. All 15 of his points came in the second
half, with 11 coming in the final six minutes.
"I've been in (foul trouble) so many times, I better
learn something from it," Horton said. "I think I'm able
to make adjustments. If the game is being called a cer-
tain way, I think I'm able to make adjustments to change
my game a little bit. That way I can still be effective on
defense."
Harris scored 10 points after notching eight last week.
Harris has scored in double figures in every other game
of the season and is Michigan's leading scorer thus far.
But his most important contribution may have been
on the defensive end where he switched off on defense
with Horton between Thomas and Quinn. Quinn, who
came in shooting 51.4 percent, shot 2-for-l from the
field.
"Coach told us (Friday) in the meeting that their team
starts with their two perimeter guys in the backcourt,"
Harris said. "He wanted us to defend them really well
and force them into tough shots and just play really good
defense. And I think we did that (Saturday)."
SATURDAY'S GAME
Notre Dame 60
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS
Latimsre 35 713 4-6'3-5 2 1. 18
Francis 17 56 2-4 2-6 0 2 12
Cornette 29 4-7 0-0 3-5 1 2 9
Thomas 39 1-13 0-0 2-8 10 1 2
Quinn 39 2-11 0-0 0-1 1 2 6
Cornett 16 2-4 0-0 2-7 0 2 4
Falls 24 3-7 0-0 2-3 2 2 9
Isreal 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
TEAM 2-3
Totals 200 24-616-1016-38161260
FG%: .393 FT%: .600 3-point FG: 6-19,
.316 (Falls 3-7, Quinn 2-5, Cornette 1-
3, Thomas 0-4). Blocks: 3 (Cornett 2,
Francis) Steals: 7 (Cornette 3, Thomas
2, Falls 2). Turnovers: 16 (Francis 4,
Thomas 3, Quinn 3, Cornett 3, Latimore,
Falls, TEAM). Technical fouls: None.
MICHIGAN 61
FG FT REB
MIN M-A MA 0-T A F PTS
Andrews 28 2-4 0-0 1-1 2 0 4
Brown 26 4-5 0-0 3-8 2 1 8
Sims 19 3-9 0-0 0-3 0 1 6
Horton 28 5-12 3-3 2-3 1 2 15
Harris 39 4-12 0-0 0-3 2 3 10
Petway 22 2-5 0-1 3-8 1 3 4
Coleman 16 4-5 1-2 0-0 1 0 11
Hunter 13 1-3 1-3 0-2 1 3 3
Abram 9 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
TEAM 1-2
Totals 200 25-55 5-9 10-32 10 1361
FG%: .455 FT%: .556 3-point FG: 6-17,
.353 (Coleman 2-3, Horton 2-5, Harris
2-7, Andrews 0-1, Sims 0-1). Blocks:
5 (Petway 3, Sims, Hunter). Steals: 6
(Andrews 2, Brown, Horton, Petway,
Hunter. Turnovers: 14 (Harris 4, Sims
3, Hunter 2, Horton 2, Andrews, Petway,
Coleman). Technical fouls: none.
Notre Damn.......30 30 - 60
Michigan. 30 31 - 61
At: Crisler Arena
Attendance: 12,563
'M'STATS
Player G Min A Reb Pts
Harris 7 37.7 3.0 2.9 15.0
Horton 7 33.1 4.3 3.1 11.7
Sims 7 25.1 0.0 7.1 10.6
Petway 7 22.7 0.7 6.6 7.4
Hunter 7 14.0 0.4 2.6 6.9
Abram 3 28.7 1.3 4.7 6.7
Brown 6 21.0 1.0 6.3 4.5
Andrews 5 17.6 1.2 1.8 2.8
Coleman 7 15.4 0.9 1.9 2.7
Harrell 6 12.2 0.3 1.5 1.5
Wohl 2 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mathis 1 7.0 0.0 4.0 0.0
Bell 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Ba 1 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Team Big Ten Overall
Illinois 0 0 6 0
lowe 0 0 6 1
Wisconsin 0 0 4 1
Ohio State 0 0 5 2
Penn State 0 0 5 2
Michigan State 0 0 4 2
Michigan 0 0 4 3
Minnesota 0 0 3 3
Indiana 0 0 2 2
Northwestern 0 0 2 4
Purdue 0 0 1 4
THiS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 61, Notre Dame 60
MICHIGAN STATE 66, George Mason 60
Illinois 72, ARKANSAS 60
CsssrcCsnCU 74. Indiana 69
GEORr WASNGTN 96, Michigan St. 83
seWA 83, UNC-Greenshor 58
MssrSOTs 72, Hly Crss 56
NORTHWESTERN 78, Chicago St. 53
Wisconsin 70, RUTGERS 62
TONIGHT'S GAMES
Penn State at Georgetown 7:30 p.m.
Chicago State at Illinois 8 p.m.
Indiana at Lewis 8:30 p.m.
TUESDAY'S GAMES
High Point at Michigan 7 p.m.
Northern Iowa at Iowa 8:05 p.m.
Wisconsin-G.B. at Wisconsin 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Notre Dame at Indiana 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Nebraska 8 p.m.
Oklahoma at Purdue 9 p.m.
SATURAY'S GAMES
South Florida at Michigan noon p.m.
Colorado St at Purdue noon p.m.
central Michigan at Minnesota 1 p.m.
Indiana at Kentucky 1:30 p.m.
Oregon at Illinois 2 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Penn St 2 p.m.
Stanford at Michigan St 4 p.m.
Wisconsin at Marquette 7:30 p.m.
Portland St at Ohio St 8 p.m.
KEY STAT
3-FOR-26
The combined field goal
shooting of Notre Dame's two
leading scorers, Chris Quinn and
Chris Thomas.
UP NEXT:
HIGH POINT
The Panthers made the trip to Anchorage forthe
Great Alaska Shootout overThanksgiving weekend
and lost all four games. High Point's leading
scorer, 6-foot-6 forward Danny Gathings, is alsothe
team's leading rebounder with 14 points and seven
rebounds per game. Michigan defeated the Panthers
at crislerArena last season 84-49.
SOUTH FLORIDA
The Bulls are off to a 5-2 start and nearly knocked
off last year's Cinderella team, Richmond, on
Wednesday. South Florida boaststwo players
averaging more than 15 points per game in Terrence
Leather(17.7) and Brian Swift (16.6). The Bulls
are also a threatfrom behind the arc, shooting 41
percentfrom 3-point land.
Freshman Ron Coleman tripled his career high, scoring 11 points and hitting two 3-
pointers. Coleman previous high was three, and was 3-of-22 from the field.
AP TOP 25
IRISH
Continued from page 1B
The victory came as a relief for Michi-
gan team that had dropped three straight
games prior to Saturday and needed a
win to get its season back on the right
track.
"We lost that one on Tuesday," Horton
." e ai s - -x .- :- roharcen Rif w - Ir
we had to come around and be ready
to play because Notre Dame is another
good team."
Michigan's first-half stats looked as
if they had come out of the basketball
Twilight Zone. Coleman topped his eight
career points with 10 in the 10 minutes
he spent on the court. He was the lead-
ing scorer in the first frame and kept the
Wolverines afloat while more prominent
players struggled to find their bearings.
"I thought his play in the first half was
critical," said Amaker of Coleman. "We
finally had some more offensive pro-
duction from someone on the perimeter
other than players like Daniel (Horton)
and Dion (Harris). It takes a lot of pres-
sure off our offense."
John Andrews, the sophomore walk-
on-turned-starter, also did his fair share
in the peculiar first half. He scored four
points, grabbed a rebound and notched
an assist.
Michigan also managed to shut down
the Irish's standout guards Thomas and
Chris Quinn. Due largely to blanketing
defense from Horton and Harris, Thomas
shot 1-for-13 from the floor, while Quinn
went just 2-for-lI.
Tri-captain Graham Brown also
exhibited tight defense and aggressive
rebounding. He grabbed eight rebounds
on the afternoon, the most notable of
which occurred when he threw a rebound
to Harris while falling to the ground.
Harris launched it to Coleman, who drew
a foul on a dunk attempt and made one
of his subsequent free throws. The free
throw put Wolverines within two with
less than two minutes left on the clock.
"I went out there and played as hard as
I could," Brown said. "I got a couple of
easy baskets down low and did whatever
I could to help the team."
As usual, Petway fulfilled his role
as the spark off the bench, stuffing two
decisive dunk, and finishing the game
with three blocks.
Yesterday, Amaker released a state-
ment that both Abram and Brown will
miss time to have surgery. Brown will be
out four to six weeks with a hernia, while
Abram will miss the entire season with a
separated shoulder.
Week 3 (Nov. 29 - Dec. 5)
Team:
1. Wake Forest
2. Kansas
3. Syracuse
4. Georgia Tech
5. Illinois
6. Oklahoma State
7. Connecticut
8. Kentucky
9. North Carolina
10. Duke
11. Michigan State
12. Maryland
13. Pittsburgh
14. Washington
15. Mississippi State
16. North Carolina State
17. Louisville
18. Texas
19. Florida
20. Notre Dame
21. Arizona
22. Alabama
23. Iowa
24. Virginia
25. Wisconsin
Record:
6-1
4-0
7-0
5-0
6-0
5-0
3-0
4-1
6-1
5-0
4-2
4-2
5-0
5-1
6-2
5-0
4-1
5-1
4-1
3-1
5-2
6-1
6-1
6-0
4-1
Last game:
Beat Richmond, 90-73
Beat Pacific, 81-70
Beat Colgate, 68-55
Beat Georgia, 87-49
Beat Arkansas, 72-60
Beat Washington State, 81-29
Beat Indiana, 74-69
Lost to North Carolina, 91-78
Beat Kentucky, 91-78
Beat Valparaiso, 93-61
Beat George Mason, 66-60
Beat George Washington, 101-92
Beat Duquesne, 87-57
Beat Eastern Washington, 89-56
Lost to Arizona, 68-64
Beat Manhattan, 76-60
Beat Lafayette, 98-57
Beat Seton Hall, 70-62
Lost to Miami, 72-65
Lost to Michigan, 61-60
Beat Mississippi State, 68-64
Beat Charlotte, 102-101
Beat N.C. Greensboro, 83-58
Beat Auburn, 89-87
Beat Rutgers, 70-62
Also receiving votes: Gonzaga 65, Cincinnati 51, Southern Illinois 46, Memphis 34,
Creighton 26, Boston College 24, Vermont 18, Charlotte 16, Stanford 15, Oklahoma 14,
Pepperdine 14, Marquette 13, Michigan 9, Utah 8, Alabama-Birmingham 7, New Mexico
4, George Washington 3, Iowa State 3, Nevada 3, Ohio State 3, West Virginia 3, Indiana
2, Oregon 2, Rutgers 2, Holy Cross 1, Louisiana State 1, Miami (Ohio) 1.
Daniel Horton scored 15 on Saturday.
4