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.