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.