Thursday February 2, 2006 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com P OeRIidSigan Bail 1OA 0 Cagers tame Li0S By Scott Bell Daily Sports Editor STATE COLLEGE - After deferring to a red-hot Dion Harris for most of the game, it was time for senior Daniel Horton to take center stage. "You need seniors on the road, and we certainly needed our senior leader," Michi- gan coach Tommy Amaker said. Horton's 3-pointer with 58 seconds remain- ing ended all hopes of a Penn State comeback. Following a Travis Parker lay-up that chipped No. 21 Michigan's lead to three, Amaker called a play to put the ball in Horton's hands. Once the shot clock reached MICMAN 71 10, Horton dished the ball to forward Graham Brown on the right wing. Brown gave it to guard Jerret Smith in the right corner and then set a screen for Horton, who found himself wide open at the right wing and drained the 3-pointer to give Michigan a 69-63 lead. With the help of Harris's scoring con- tributions, Horton led Michigan's suc- cessful attempt to stave off an upset bid by the host Nittany Lions. The Wolverines extended their win streak to five games, prevailing 71-65. Michigan's win boosts its conference record to 6-2 (16-3 overall) and allows it to keep a share of first place in the Big Ten. "It's a huge, huge win for us," said senior co-captain Chris Hunter, who scored seven points. "It was a big state- ment for us to just come in here and grind a win out." The Horton-to-Harris connection was on display throughout the game. All but two of Harris's game-high 23 points came from beyond the arc - and five 3-pointers came off passes from Horton. Harris's 7-for-11 performance from long range paced Michi- gan's 12-for-25 team mark. "We get credit a lot for defense and being physical a lot, but we know that we also have a good-shooting team, too," Horton said. "When they went and showed zone, we knew we could take advantage of it." And Michigan needed almost every one of its threes. The pesky Nittany Lions (2-6, Blue's close win sends a powerful message A STATE COLLEGE - he experts called for it. ESPN analyst Tom Brennan predicted it. Twice. The Nittany Lions played like they wanted it. And after a banner week for the Wolverines in which they defeated then No. 11 Michigan State and then No. 23 Wisconsin and earned a top-25 ranking, this Michigan team seemed set up for it - an upset. Entering last night's contest at the Bryce Jordan Center, the Wolver- ines - who were 1-2 on the road in conference play - needed to make the statement that they could do, what was necessary to win Big Ten KE games on the road. But excluding junior Dion Harris's WR 11-point first-half effort, Michigan Mon looked like it wasn't ready for the increased scrutiny. The Nittany Lions came out the aggressors from the opening tip. They drove to the basket, and the Wolverines just watched them go by. Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley found easy paths to the basket, and the Michigan defenders were always a step slower. Playing an extended 2-3 zone, the Nittany Lions held Michigan to four points in the first five min- utes. The Wolverines couldn't find an open look and lacked any offensive flow, while Penn State hustled after the loose balls. The Nittany Lions grabbed 10 defensive rebounds and held the Wol- verines to just four boards on the offensive glass. And five minutes into the game, it looked like the dreaded "upset" would strike sooner than Michigan would have liked. But then the Wolverines woke up. Coming out of the first media timeout, Michigan turned up the intensity to match that of the Nittany Lions, and it regained the form of a team ranked 21st in the nation. The Wolverines pushed the ball. They prevented Penn State from setting up in its zone and slowing down the pace of the game. By looking upcourt, Michigan quickly tired out a Nittany Lions team that goes just seven players deep. Possession after possession, the Wolverines grabbed a defensive rebound, made an outlet pass to Daniel Horton and converted a wide open 3-pointer, courtesy of Ron Coleman or Harris. Those open looks helped to establish a little breathing room for the Wolverines, with Harris hitting clutch shots late in the half to V 2I oa maintain the Michigan lead. After having early success in the paint, the Nit- tany Lions couldn't find the easy lay-ups in the lane that had been there at the game's outset. The Michigan players stepped in and contested shots. When Chris Hunter entered the game four minutes in, he brought defensive effort that sparked the Wolverines. On Penn State's first pos- session with Hunter on the court, Tra- vis Parker turned to loft a hook shot toward the basket. Hunter rose and swatted it out of bounds. With all the hype surrounding this Michigan squad, the Wolverines needed to make a statement. Following a 2-0 week against a SIN pair of top-25 teams, whispers spread GHT about the chance that this team had to tone hoist the first conference champion- ship banner to Crisler Arena's rafters since 1986. But in the impressive Big Ten, the Wolverines had to show that they could play like a champi- onship team away from Crisler's accommodat- ing atmosphere. Early last night, I thought this team wasn't ready to make that step. At halftime, the Wolverines held just a two- point lead, and Harris was the lone Michigan player in double figures. Penn State was hang- ing with a team that was more talented, deeper and taller. But give Michigan credit. The start wasn't what the Wolverines envisioned when they stepped onto the court for the pregame shoot-around. And neither was the finish. But no matter how you rate the quality of Michigan's play, the fact rerains that the team survived. It didn't roll over when Penn State jumped ahead early. Instead, it adjusted. Last night, the Nittany Lions had a chance to knock off the Wolverines and put a damper on their Big Ten title hopes. Before the game, the 6,509 fans in the arena believed in the pos- sibility that, 40 minutes later, Penn State would walk off the court with a monumental victory. In a Big Ten with the top as crowded as it is, the Wolverines just need to survive and pull out wins, at home and on the road. With the win last night, the Wolverines ignored Tom Brennan's prediction, overcame Penn State's grit and kept their Big Ten title hopes alive. 0 JEREMY CHO/Daily Guard Daniel Horton's unselfish play resulted In 12 assists and a 71-65 win over Penn State. 10-9) refused to die. Time after time, they got second-chance points against a taller Michigan team. Penn State used 17 offensive rebounds to propel it to a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points. "I was disappointed, but I wasn't neces- sarily surprised," Amaker said. "We felt like it was going to be tough for us. Just because they're undersized doesn't mean we're going to have an advantage because of our height. They could jump twice sometimes before we could jump once ... they were very quick." Michigan struggled to handle Penn State's front line throughout the first half. Despite standing 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 respectively, sophomore Geary Claxton and freshman Jamelle Cornley consistently had their way with the Wolverines. The two combined for 21 points and helped keep the halftime deficit to two. But Amaker's switch from man-to-man to a matchup zone seemed to confuse Claxton and Cornley, and they managed just 12 points in the final stanza. Horton finished the game with 13 points to go along with his 12 assists - even though he later claimed that he thought he had at least 15 helpers. "(Horton) was a catalyst for us," Amak- er said. "He was jetting the ball and was so unselfish." Despite facing early foul trouble, Horton stayed in the game and helped jumpstart a Michigan fast-break attack that outscored Penn State, 23-5. "Once we got the ball upcourt, we were able to tire them out," said sophomore Ron Coleman, who scored 10 points. Horton agreed. "We feel like every game we want to push the ball and wear teams down with our depth," Horton said. "It happened ... today we were able to wear them down with how much we would run." - Kevin Wright can be reached at kpwr@umich.edu. 0 T;Ik4: 5: y ~t tt '"ji t . v}y }tC I t