I.
MOUNTAIN HAWKS PINNED:
Grapplers take care of business
with late surge against Lehigh.
PAGE 2B
THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN:
Ever start a scrum in little league? Ian
Herbert breaks down the best sports fights.
PAGE 3B
RUNNING SWEEP:
The men's and women's track teams
performed well over the weekend.
PAGE 6B
SPORTS ONDAY
January 9,2006
lB
Michigan 68, PURDUE 65
---------- .......... 111,41 F
Spoilermakers
denied
0.
Horton steps up
in Big Ten scare
By Scott Bell
Daily Sports Writer
Purdue had nothing to lose and played like it. But in the
end, another second-half explosion from Daniel Horton was
too much, and the injury-depleted Boilermakers fell just short
in their upset bid.
"I remember us being in some games last year where we battled
and we came up a little short against some teams where people
thought they were going to knock us out," Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker said. "We thought (Purdue) was going to be a team that
would come in here with the psychological advantage and would
just let it all hang out."
Tight defense down the stretch helped Michigan (1-1 Big Ten,
11-2 overall) hold off upset-minded Purdue 68-65 on Saturday after-
noon at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines didn't score a field goal in the
game's final 3:32, but they held Purdue (0-2,6-7) to just two points
in the game's last six minutes.
The Boilermakers' best chance to upend Michigan came with
13 seconds left. With his team trailing 67-65, Purdue coach Matt
Painter decided to go for the win. The Boilermakers found a way
to get the ball to their hot hand when forward Matt Kiefer - who
was 8-for-l1 with 21 points at the time - received it at the top of
the key. He got the shot off before a charging Courtney Sims could
get a hand on it, but the ball found back rim, and sophomore Ron
Coleman corralled the rebound before getting fouled.
Coleman made just one free throw, but Purdue guard Korey
Spates's desperation three at the end fell short, giving Michigan its
first conference win of the young season.
"We have a lot to work on - we knew that," Amaker said.
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Senior Daniel Horton scored a game-high 24 points on Saturday.
A lot to work on? It's going to be an interesting week of practice
leading up to the Illinois game Saturday.
A season-low 37 percent from the field.
Fifteen turnovers committed, compared to just 13 assists.
See BOILERMAKERS, page 5B
Weak opponent sheds light on problems
There was an optimistic spin to Michigan's
68-65 win over Purdue on Saturday, and, not
surprisingly, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
trumpeted it. In his post-game press conference,
Amaker appeared to be relatively pleased with his
team's effort, emphasizing Michigan's resilience in
a tight game. On a superficial level, he's right - the
Wolverines managed to gut out a crucial comeback
victory against an opponent with nothing to lose.
But Amaker's rosy outlook fails to account for the
cold reality - the Wolverines were one bad bounce
away from an embarrassing and crippling defeat
in their Big Ten home opener. Although Michigan S
escaped with a skin-of-the-teeth victory, the team's Spi
play raises serious questions about the Wolverines'
ability to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth in
this year's uber-competitive Big Ten conference.
Think I'm being too negative? Take a quick glance at Purdue's
roster. Before the season, the Boilermakers were widely predicted
to be a Big Ten bottom-dweller. Adding injury to
insult, over the past few months, Purdue lost four of
its best players for the season, including stars Carl
Landry and David Teague, starting point guard Tar-
rance Crump and emerging freshman Nate Minnoy.
Earlier this season, Purdue lost to "powerhouses"
Evansville and Loyola (Chicago) by a combined 21
points. The Boilermakers' best win came against
South Alabama - a team I didn't even know existed.
Overall, it's hardly an impressive resum.
Of course, Purdue deserves credit for its perfor-
mance on Saturday. The Boilermakers crashed the
3ER boards with gusto, played lock-down defense and
gFire seemed to answer every Michigan basket with a big
shot of their own.
But the bottom line is this: If the Wolverines want
to be a serious contender, they can't let a team like Purdue sneak
up on them ... especially at home. If Michigan almost lost to a
See SINGER, page 5B
MIA
)INC
flih
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Sophomore Ron Coleman helps block Boilermaker guard Korey Spates. Coleman made a key free throw down the stretch
and aided a Michigan defense that allowed Purdue to score just two points in the game's final six minutes.
Gutierrez says
adios to Ann
Arbor, transfers
By Matt Venegoni
Daily Sports Editor
He never lost in high school, but he never got a start in
college. On Sunday, months of speculation ended when
redshirt junior quarterback Matt Gutierrez announced
that he would be transferring to Division I-AA Idaho State
next season.
According to the Ann Arbor News, Gutierrez planned to
leave for Pocatello, Idaho, yesterday with his father, Paul.
Although he is happy to have a chance to start on the foot-
ball field, Gutierrez was not happy to leave Ann Arbor.
"I'm definitely not excited about leaving all my friends
and all the great people I've met here," Gutierrez told the
Ann Arbor News. "But I'm excited about the new oppor-
tunity. I love to play football. I'm looking forward to being
able to work toward that and succeed in that way"
After playing at national powerhouse De La Salle in
Concord, Calif., Gutierrez came to Michigan following
in the footsteps of fellow California native and former
Michigan quarterback Tom Brady. Yet circumstance and
injury prevented Gutierrez from having as much success
Icers knock out Nanooks in
round one, then lose rematch
By Daniel Levy
Daily Sports Writer
MIKE HULSE.US/Daily
Junior quarterback Matt Gutierrez left for Idaho State.
on the field as Brady did.
Gutierrez redshirted his first year at Michigan and spent
the next two as the primary backup for the much-embattled
John Navarre. He put in three years of hard work learning
the Michigan offense, and it looked like his determina-
tion would be rewarded. Coach Lloyd Carr named Gutier-
rez the starter the week of the season opener in 2004, but
Gutierrez sustained a shoulder injury that prevented him
from making the start. Then-freshman Chad Henne got
See GUTIERREZ, page 6B
Two things were clear in No. 7 Michi-
gan's 4-2 home loss to Alaska-Fairbanks
on Saturday night: Officiating was tight
in order to curtail any carry-over from the
brawls that ended Fri-
day night's contest, ' AsA' . I
and, in an attempt to hi "" i
rid themselves of the Ausu-FAI. 4
bitter taste of Friday
night's 4-0 loss, the
Nanooks were determined to start the game
off strong.
A minute into the first period, officials
whistled Michigan defenseman David Rohlfs
for tripping - the fifth penalty of the game.
Alaska-Fairbanks quickly took advantage,
catching the Wolverines (8-4-1 CCHA 13-7-
1 overall) out of position. Nanooks' forward
Kelly Czuy found forward Jordan Emmer-
son wide open on the right side of the goalie
crease. Czuy whipped the puck over, and
Emmerson banged it home before Wolver-
ine goalie Billy Sauer had a chance to make
the stop.
Less than a minute later, Alaska-Fair-
banks (5-7-2, 9-8-3) kept the pressure on
and forced a turnover in the Michigan zone.
After pouncing on the loose puck, Emmer-
son sent a pass across the ice to Nanooks
forward Kyle Jones, who beat Sauer to give
his team a 2-0 lead.
Alaska-Fairbanks wasn't done yet. Four
minutes after allowing the second goal,
WOMEN' BAbKETtALLe
'M' storms back, but misses upset
By Ian Robinson
Daily Sports Writer
There are two ways to look at the women's basket-
ball team's 51-43 loss to No. 14 Purdue yesterday at
under the Purdue basket. Meeting the Wolverines, the Boil-
ermakers lined up in a different full-court press then it had
earlier, and that seemed to confuse Michigan.
With a five-second violation approaching, Cooper hand-
ed the ball off to guard Jessica Minnfield, who was cutting
JUSTIN BASS/Daily
Junior Tim Cook and Nanook Curtis Fraser glare at each other during Friday night's
rough affair. For more on the last-minute scrum, see page 4B.