A DISPUTED DEADLOCK:
The women's gymnastics team ties
after Nebraska's coach protests.
PAGE 6B
THE SPORTSTUESDAY COLUMN:
Club Sports provide a great out-
let for athletes and fans alike.
PAGE 3B
A TALENTED FRIENDSHIP:
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby and
Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson go way back.
PAGE 8B
SPORTS
January 17, 2006
lB
-- - - -- ----- ------ -- ------------- - --- - - ---
Michigan 74
Dee-sappointed
Wolverines take iini down to the
wire, but buzzer-beater rims out
By Jack Herman
Daily Sports Writer
CHAMPAIGN - It was billed as a
battle between two of the best guards in
the Big Ten. Michigan's Daniel Horton
against Illinois' Dee Brown. But after
a first half in which they combined to
shoot 2-for-14, it sure didn't look like it.
In the second frame, that changed.
Brown finished with a game-high 26
points. Horton had 19. And, in the end,
it would come down to a clash between
these two.
With 13 seconds left, the seventh-
ranked Illini held a 77-74 lead, but the
Wolverines held the ball. Michigan
coach Tommy Amaker drew up an
inbounds play designed to leave Horton
open for three. It worked, and with just a
few ticks left on the clock, Horton fired
his shot.
He thought it was in. So did team-
mate Courtney Sims. So did teammate
Dion Harris.
The rim didn't agree.
Horton's shot clanked out, and after
Brown grabbed the rebound, drew the
foul and hit both of his free throws, time
expired, ending the Wolverines' upset
bid. With the 79-74 defeat on Saturday,
Michigan continued to add to the stark
contrast that has plagued its ledger all
season.
Record against unranked teams: 11-0.
Record against ranked teams: 0-3.
"I got a good look at it, and I feel
like every time I get a good look at it,
it's going in," Horton said. "It felt good
when I released it."
It's nearly impossible to place any of
the blame for the loss on Horton. Just
like a number of other games this year,
if it weren't for him, the Wolverines (1-
2 Big Ten, 11-3 overall) wouldn't have
been in the contest.
After Brown hit consecutive 3-point-
ers to put Illinois (2-1, 16-1) ahead 69-
60, Horton went on tear. He responded
by hitting two straight from behind the
arc, one on a pull-up jumper right in
Brown's face. Later, after Brown missed
a trey that might have sealed the deal,
Horton drove and hit a bank shot that
brought the Wolverines within one at
75-74. All told, Horton ended the game
by scoring 12 of the Wolverines' last
14 points - a performance that led to
Michigan's only lead of the second half,
70-69 with 4:01 to go.
Both Amaker and Sims agreed that
Horton was not at fault.
"We need balance, we need produc-
tion from some of our other players,"
Amaker said. "If we get what we got
from Daniel today ... that's pretty darn
good afternoon for one of your guards,
for one of your players. For us, we cer-
tainly need more production from some
of our other guys."
Said Sims: "Everybody's going to
look at the end of the game, missing the
3-pointer, but that's not really what lost
it for us."
So, if it wasn't Horton's missed shot,
what was it?
Perhaps it was the Wolverines' inabil-
ity to contain Brown. Although Michi-
gan held Brown to just one field goal in
the first half, he hit all seven of his free
throws. In the second, the Wolverines
cut the lead to 53-51 only to see Brown
explode to expand the deficit to 69-60.
See ILLINI, page 5B
Great comeback, thrlng condusion,
but Michikan must learn tofn#h
CHAMPAIGN - My nerves were fraz-
zled. My heart was pounding. My body was
strained from contorting to see past the bod-
ies in front of me on press row and the Michi-
gan bench.
On the court, the players whizzed by me at
breakneck speed. It was impossible to process.
the action in my head, let alone type coherent
notes. How the players managed to keep their
composure remains a mystery to me.
With 13.7 seconds left, Daniel Horton raced
downcourt and called a timeout. Realizing
that I had literally been holding my breath for SI
most of the past five minutes, I typed myself a Spit
little reminder:
"Gotta remember to breathe, Matt. Breathe."
As the sold-out Assembly Hall crowd reached ear-shat-
tering decibel levels, I promptly forgot my own advice.
My breathing once again ceased while I immediately
searched for Horton's spot on the court. I knew the ball
was coming to him. Illinois coach Bruce Weber knew the
ball was coming to him. The fat guy with the
chef's hat in the Orange Krush knew the ball
was coming to him. Everyone knew that Dan-
iel Horton would be taking the final shot.
Horton stood near the right wing. The two
best Illinois players, James Augustine and
Dee Brown, both kept an eye on him.
The inbounds pass went to Dion Harris. Horton
came over to set a screen, and then faded toward
the 3-point arc. Illinois switched seamlessly. Har-
ris still had the ball, and Horton remained cov-
TT ered. Then Harris dribbled, apparently hopelessly,
GER toward the right corner. For a moment, I focused
g Fire on Harris. Evidently, so did the Illini.
Because on the other side of the court,
Horton was still working to get free. He
came off a screen by Graham Brown and popped behind
the arc on the left wing. All of a sudden, Harris let loose
with a perfect skip pass. Horton caught the ball and pre-
pared to fire.
See SINGER, page 5B
IA
INC
Rink
FOREST CASEY/
Illinois guard Dee Brown gestures to the crowd at Assembly Hall where the Illini squeaked by the Wolverines on Saturday.
'Medges
U.S. squad
In exhibition
By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Sports Writer
One sound, two different reactions.
It was that kind of game for the No. 6 Michigan
hockey team during its 4-3 exhibition win over the U.S.
National Team Development Program Under-18 team
last Friday at Yost Ice Arena.
With his team down 1-0 in the first period, Michigan
freshman Andrew Cogliano had
a wide-open net near the right
face-off circle when he picked up
a rebound off Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson's slap
shot. Cogliano quickly released the puck, only to hear
the crowd groan in unison as the puck clanged off the
post and away from the net.
But with the game tied at three just three minutes into
the third period, freshman Brandon Naurato received a
pass from forward Zac MacVoy and fired a shot from
the point through the five-hole of U.S. goaltender Joseph
Palmer. The puck again clanged off the right post. But
this time, it crossed the goal line and sent the Yost crowd
into frenzil iuhilation.
* WOMENKS BASKEThALL
Dismal offensive
stats doom Blue
against Buckeyes
By Daniel Bromwich
Daily Sports Writer
COLUMBUS - The offensive statistics that the Michigan women's
basketball team recorded on Sunday afternoon at Ohio State were atro-
cious enough to lose almost any Big Ten road game. But when you take
into account that the Buckeyes (3-1 Big Ten, 13-2 overall) are the eighth-
ranked team in the nation and sport a legitimate MI A
player-of-the-year candidate in center Jessica Dav-
enport, a blowout is a predictable outcome.
The Wolverines (0-5, 6-11) shot just 25 percent
from the field and committed 21 turnovers in their 62-34 loss at Value
City Arena. They finished 0-for-12 from 3-point range, and starters
Janelle Cooper and Carly Benson finished a combined 0-for-11 from
the field. Sophomore Katie Dierdorf led Michigan in scoring, but she
needed 14 shot attempts to record her 10 points. The team was never
able to maintain consistency on the offensive end and often looked lost
playing against the zone that Ohio State employed.
"We expect everybody to play a lot of zone," said Michigan coach
Cheryl Burnett. "We knew that Ohio State usually plays man, but
we expected them to play zone against us. We were prepared for it,
but being prepared for it and doing it on the court are two different
RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
Alternate cantain T I H. nsick cnntrihutAd a gnal and an assist in Michigan's come-from-behind win on Saturday.