The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 28, 2005 - 5B FASTBREAK Saturday's Game MICHIGAN 78 - BUTLER 74 Horton puts Early on, junior center Courtney Sims looked like that over-sized sixth grader back in middle school. You know, the one who all the parents thought lied about his age but really was just a victim of an early puberty. He may not have been the most elegant player on the court, but he used his height well. Sims was five inches taller than any defender on Butler, and he used this extra height to his advan- tage throughout the first half. He had 16 of Michigan's first 20 points and 18 points in the first half alone. He controlled the first 20 minutes. Whether it be an alley-oop or just a simple jump hook, Sims played like he was going to score 40. He kept the Wolverines.,. going when most of them looked like they would rather get seconds on Thanksgiving: leftovers than play the Bulldogs. His effortsY secured an eight-point lead for Michigan heading into break. MA But someone had to get Sims the ball, and VENE that same someone had to save the game for the Wolverines just as he had done against The B team on his shoulders again TT GO Rall Boston. Enter Daniel Horton. Butler decided to actually defend Sims with a second defender - wise decision coach Todd Lickliter. With Sims neutralized, Michigan was lost for the first 15 minutes of the second half. The offense lacked flow - not an uncommon sight for fans of the Wolverines. The team didn't know what to do when Sims had a second defender covering him. But when things looked bad, the team just turned to its default offense, Horton. Often, the offense would rotate the ball around the perim- eter of the 3-point line for the first 25 seconds. But then, the realization came that someone needed to take action. Horton got the ball, and the rest of the team basically got out of the way. Case in point, with less than three minutes remaining, Horton received the ball and tried a dribble drive. But three Butler defenders met him in the lane as he put his shot up - it never got close to the hoop. But in the ensuing scrum, the 6-foot-3 Horton somehow got the ball back and put it in from four feet away. Horton's not Michael Jordan circa 1997; he needed a little help or at least an offensive setup, but when all things failed, Michigan went to its senior leader. "(He had an) unbelievable line, and the thing he prob- ably won't get credit for is his heart and will and passion he has and how that permeates through the rest of our players," coach Tommy Amaker said. And Amaker wasn't pulling the wool over our collective eyes. Horton's ability to control both the tempo and the game allowed others who hadn't done much all game to step up. Ron Coleman hit a key jumper after a Sims screen, largely because the Bulldogs knew they had to cover Sims and Horton. Even when the Bulldogs knocked Horton down, he got back up and kept his team in the game. And make no mistake about it, this is Horton's team. He had his problems in the past, but everybody, includ- ing Amaker, knows that for this team to finally have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament Horton has to lead. And that's what he did. A Butler defender gave Horton a little shove and knocked the Cedar Hill, Texas, native down on a NI drive to the basket. From the press row, I could hear the skin tear as he skidded across the hardwood floor. He got up, didn't complain and shook his hand a little bit. Instead of whining, Horton kept his com- posure and nailed a jumper to put Michigan up 72-70. Then, Horton put the game away with six straight free throws. "I was trying to stay poised and patient," Horton said of the contest. But he said that the whole team had to do that to win the game. Horton even admitted afterward that, two years ago, the Wolverines may have lost this game because of a lack of maturity. I agree with him. But even with its newfound matu- rity, Michigan would have lost this game if Horton weren't playing. And that's the reality right now for the Wolverines. Sure, Michigan is 3-0 and Horton is playing extremely well, but it's just three games. And the Wolverines haven't exactly blown teams away. Last year, Michigan started 3-0 last year, and we all know what happened. If Horton continues to stay under control while playing with the chip on his shoulder that he's always had, we can all get a little more excited. Because we can't count on Sims playing against guys almost half a foot shorter than him every game. - Matt has a new appreciation for Michigan after spending Thanksgiving here - he rode a mechanical bull. He can be reached at mvgoni@umich.edu PLAYERS OF THE GAME Daniel Horton Michigan Horton scored a season-high 28 points Saturday, including the team's final 10 points in Michi- gan's comeback win over Butler. Brandon Polk Butler The senior forward kept the Bulldogs in the game throughout, posting 23 points and a team- high nine rebounds. WHAT DID YOU SAY? "You could see the passion and heart that he had." - Michigan coach Tommy Amaker on senior guard Daniel Horton's performance on Saturday. KEY STAT 18 The number of first-half points scored by Courtney Sims and second-half points scored by Horton. SATURDAY'S GAME Butler 74 Player I MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A F PTS Horan 27 1-3 2-2 0-2 4 3 5 Polk 36 10-17 3-4 3-9 1 3 23 crone 24 4-6 2-2 1-4 4 4 11 Graves 35 9-18 2-2 0-1 3 2 24 Sheets 31 2-7 2-2 1-5 1 2 7 Betko 9' 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Nellerns 18 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Ligon 13 1-3 0-0 1-4 0 1 2 Streicher 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 STEVEN TAI/Daily Senior Daniel Horton took the Wolverines on his shoulders and propelled them to a key victory over Butler. TEAM TOTALS 200 28-55 11-12 7-26 14 16 74 FG%: 50.9 FT%: 91.7 3-point FG: 7-18, .389 (Graves 4- 8, Crone 1-3, Horan 1-3, Sheets 1-4). Blocks: 1 (Polk) Steals: 5 (Nellems 2, Graves, Sheets, Streicher). Turn- overs: 10 (Polk 3, Graves 2, Betko, Crones, Ligon, Nel- lems). Technical fouls: None. MICHIGAN 78 Wright cruises to victories, while Herman maintains overall lead. Scorig system: (Last game's points, overall points, single-game wins) Player MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A F PTS STEVEN TA! /Daily Junior Courtney Sims paced Michigan during the first half in which he scored 18 points and kept the Wolverines ahead of Bulter. Kevin Wright (D. Horton, J. Shepherd, B. Petway, T. Sanchez, P. Devries) (28, 60, 2) Stellar first half from Sims lost amongst Horton heroics Jack Herman (L Abram, R. Coleman, J. Smith, K. Price) (22, 66, 1) By Gabe Edelson Daily Sports Writer Daniel Horton stole the show in crunch time on Saturday. Michigan's senior point guard scored 18 second-half points, including eight in the final 49 seconds. But if it weren't for Courtney Sims and his remarkable first-half performance S against Butler, Horton's fantastic finish in Michigan's 78-74 win might have been in vain. Sims dominated the opening 14 minutes of the contest. When the score was tied at 20 with 6:08 remaining in the opening frame, the junior had converted eight of his 11 field goal attempts, accounting 16 of the Wolverines' points - a full 80 percent of the team's offensive output. Prior to Sims's eighth bucket, his teammates' shooting was ice-cold. The rest of Michigan's roster went a combined 2-for-11 during Sims's rapid start. After the Wolverines reached 20 points, the remain- der of the squad went 6-for-9 from the field as Michigan pulled away for a 37-29 lead heading into the intermission. "I knew I had to establish myself," Sims said. "I knew (the Bulldogs) thought they had an advantage with their quickness and we had an advantage with our height. I wanted to establish that." Sims was also active on the glass, recording four put-back buckets in the period. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Boston native had collected 18 points on 75 percent shooting to go along with five rebounds in just 15 minutes. "We really had the emphasis about getting the ball inside, and certainly (Sims) is our best interior scorer," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "He was the recipient of some good passes by our players." The 6-foot-11, 245-pound Sims was visibly fatigued late in the first half - no doubt due in large part to his extensive cate his early feats in the second stanza. The Massachusetts native managed just three points, two rebounds and a block in 15 additional minutes after halftime. But Sims had already made enough of a contribution to put Michigan in position to win the game. "They drew more attention to me (in the second half), and I didn't get as many touches," Sims said. "The game was more hectic. If I got the rebound, (Horton) would be pushing it up and making the lay-up. It was just a different game in the sec- ond half. But I think that was due to me establishing myself in the first half." Sims faced double-teams throughout the final frame, free- ing up Horton and wings Ron Coleman and Lester Abram for easier shots. The trio combined to score 36 of Michigan's 41 points in the second half. "I thought (Butler) adjusted in the second half and shrunk the floor and didn't allow a lot of room in there," Amaker said. "I was really pleased (Sims) didn't force things and stayed within the team concept. He also played well on the defensive end, so I was really pleased with his growth and maturity, as well." Sims finished the afternoon shooting 10-for-14 from the field. His 10 makes from the floor set a new career high. After failing to average in double figures in either of his first two sea- sons in Ann Arbor, Sims currently sits second on the Wolver- ines' scoring list, pouring in 15.3 points per game to go along with a team-high seven boards per contest. NOTES: The Wolverines pushed the all-time series record against Butler to 17-12, in favor of Michigan ... Horton, who scored 28 points in the game, combined with Sims to mark the first time since Dec. 13, 2003 that the Wolverines have had two 20-point scorers in the same game. Abram and Bernard Robinson Jr. reached the milestone against Central Michigan ... The announced attendance was 9,513, although there were When Michigan took the court in the season opener against Central Michigan, I was fairly con- fident in my fantasy team's chances. Then myNo. 1 pick Horton scored just tihreejpoints and I sank to a new emotional low. However, Horton didn't disap- point this weekend, coming up big for me against Boston and then But- ler. Now, I'm back in the game, and, with Petway's renewed academic vigor, there's just one place for my team to go: up to the top. Lester Abram's performance in the first three games this season makes me proud to have drafted him with the second pick of the draft. He may have been over- shadowed in the last two games by Daniel Horton, but Abram is the only Wolverine to register double- digit scoring numbers in all of his games. With Dion Harris and Courtney Sims the other options when I draft- ed, I'm glad to see that my first pick has been the model of consistancy I was more than excited when Courtney Sims had 18 of the team's 37 points going into halftime on Saturday. Preperations were being made for my victory speech. But how can I expect to win when Sims attempts a grand total of two shots in the entire second half? Whether it's Sims shying away from shooting in the second half or just him battling fatigue, I doubt I'll be notching many wins this year unless Sims finds a way to over- come this trend. Well this is what Itget for having the last pick. You'd think that my team would be fine with last year's scoring leader headlining it ... but not so much. I don't know if its his nagging heel injury or what, but Dion Har- ris just hasn't been able to work his way back into the flow of the offense. There are plenty of shots to go around for Horton, Sims and Abram, but poor Dion has been an afterthought. I'm hoping Harris asserts himself - otherwise it's going to be a long season for my fantasy team. TEAM TOTALS 31-57 11-13 FG%: 54.4 FT%: 84.6 3-point FG: 5-12, .417 (Abram 2-3, Coleman 1-1, Horton 1-2, Harris 1-4, Hunter 0-1, Shep- herd 0-1). Blocks: 6 (Brown 2, Hunter 2, Horton, Sims). Steals: 6 (Horton 4, Abram, Brown). Turnovers: 9 (Hunter 2, Horton 2, Shepherd 2, Abram, Brown, Sims). Technical fouls: none. Butler..... Michigan... 29 37 45 - 74 41 - 78 At: Crisier Arena Attendance: 9,513 'M' STATS Player GP Min Pts R A Horton 3 34.3 17.3 3.0 4.0 Sims 3 27.3 15.3 7.0 .3 Abram 3 32.7 14.7 3.0 .7 Harris 3 22.7 6.7 1.0 2.7 coleman 3 15.0 4.7 2.3 1.0 Hunter 3 15.3 4.0 4.7 .7 Brown 3 20.3 3.3 6.0 .7 Shepherd 3 11.3 2.7 2.3 .3 Smith 3 17.7 2.7 0.3 4.7 Ba 2 4.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 Abram 34 6-9 1-1 0-4 2 3 15 Sims 30 10-14 1-3 4-7 0 3 21 Brown 23 0-2 0-0 1-4 1 2 0 Horton 38 9-13 9-9 0-4 7 2 28 Harris 31 3-9 0-0 1-2 3 0 7 Smith 12 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 Shepherd 5 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 coleman 18 3-5 0-0 0-1 0 0 7 Hunter 9 0-3 0-0 0-3 1 2 0 7-28 16 14 78 Grooms 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team I Big Ten Overall Scott Bell (C. Sims, G. Brown, S. Harrell, A. Brzozowicz) (21, 56, 0) Illinois 0-0 5-0 Wisconsin 0-0 4-0 Indiana 0-0 3-0 Michigan 0-0 3-0 Penn State 0-0 3-0 Minnesota 0-0 2-0 Ohio State 0-0 2-0 Iowa 0-0 4-1 Purdue 0-0 2-1 Mich. State 0-0 3-2 SATURDAY'S RESULTS: DEPAUL 59, Northwestern 49; MINNESOTA 67, chattanooga 46; MICHIGAN 78, Butler 74; PENN STATE 80, LIU 64; WISCONSIN 92, Coastal Carolina 54; Xavier 74, Purdue 55; IOWA 79, UTSA 46; Indiana 102, W. ILLINOIS 79; Illinois 77, Rutgers 57; Michigan St. 84, IUPU-Ft. Wayne 73. Northwestern 0-0 3-2 THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE Matt Singer (D. Harris, C. Hunter, A. Ba, H. Grooms) (7, 34, 0) MONDAY'S GAME TUESDAY'S GAMES WEDNESDAY'S GAMES Virginia Tech at Ohio State, 7:30 p.m. Wisconsin at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. Purdue at Florida State, 7:30 p.m. clemson at Penn State, 8 p.m. Illinois at North Carolina, 9 p.m. Miami at Michigan, 9:30 p.m. Georgia Tech at Michigan State, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Maryland, 7 p.m. i I i