The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 17, 2006 - 5 FASTBREAK Men's Basketball Saturday's Game ILLINOIS 79 - MICHIGAN 74 Aggressive Sims breaks out of Big Ten slump By Jack Herman Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Michigan junior Courtney Sims had a rough start to the con- ference season, leaving many Wolverine fans wondering if he was up to the chal- lenges that face a Big Ten post player. If Saturday's game against Illinois is any indication, he just might be. " Sims tallied 16 points, recorded four boards and blocked two shots in Michigan's 79-74 loss to the Illini. $00 , "I was just being more aggressive," S said. "Going up with my shots even th they were double-teaming me, trying t better position in the low post." Sims's play might finally allow the co ing staff to breathe easy. After dominai during the nonconference schedule, scc double digits in all but two of 11 ga: Sims probably had some high expectat coming into Michigan's Jan. 3 game aga Indiana. But he struggled in that mat< and the Wolverines' game against due, combining for 11 points on just s attempted field goals. The game against the Illini, how provided a glimmer of hope for the of the year. Sims started off with s trouble, stymied on one of the Wolveri opening possessions by the double-tear tactic that UCLA used to stop him earli the season. But a few players later, Sims himself in the swing of things. Wolverines wing Lester Abram d down the lane and got the ball to Sims, scored and drew the foul. Sims hit the throw, giving Michigan a 9-8 lead. Sims's finest play came when he gral the largest advantage the Wolverines w « SINGER Continued from page 1B For the first - and perhaps only - time in my life, the thought flashed through my mind: Tommy Amaker is an offensive genius. The play worked, and Horton got the open look he wanted. The shot was on target, but didn't fall. C'est la vie. On Saturday, Michigan stood toe- to-toe with the heavyweight cham- pion of the Big Ten for 12 rounds. Bloodied and bruised, the Wolverines never surrendered. They responded to every vicious blow with an equal- ly nasty counter-punch and kept the champ on the ropes until the final bell sounded. But in the end, the conclusion was familiar. Michigan failed to produce the knockout blow, and, as a result, lost by split decision. After the game, Amaker and the team were as downtrodden as I've ever seen them. And why not? They had to be able to taste it, just as I could. Michigan could have prevented the Illini from amassing an NCAA- best 31-game home winning streak. Michigan could have put itself on the national map by knocking off a top- 10 team on the road. Michigan could have finally broken the "can't win a big game" stigma that has haunted it for years. It could have been a land- mark victory, a turning point in the ugly recent history of the Michigan basketball program. Instead, with the rimming-out of Horton's shot, Saturday's game was just the latest example of a familiar pattern for the Wolverines. The close- but-no-cigar, prove-your-talent-but- don't-quite-get-over-the-hump game has been Michigan's staple during the Amaker era. But there's reason for hope - Dan- iel Horton. After his performance on Saturday, there remains no doubt in my mind that Horton: 1) is one of the V best guards in the nation, 2) deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Dee Brown and 3) will be playing in the NBA next year. Look at his performance down the stretch. With less than seven min- utes to go, Brown drained his second consecutive trey - thanks to Amak- er's ill-advised transition to a zone defense - and gave Illinois a 69-60 lead. Undaunted, Horton responded with two consecutive triples of his own, draining the second one right in Brown's eye. While the rest of the Wolverines' offense stalled in the last few minutes, Horton shined, scoring hold all game. After receiving the ball down low, Sims backed down Illinois cen- ter Shaun Pruitt and sank a hook shot. In addition, Sims drew the foul and hit the shot to increase the lead to 16-12. It wasn't all fun and games for Sims though. Late in the game, Illinois forward James Augustine rejected Sims on a key Michigan possession with one minute left. SOMEWHAT ACCORDING TO PLAN: After Abram missed the first two Big Ten games this season nursing a toe injury, trainers told Michigan coach Tommy Amaker that he could expect about 20 to 25 minutes out of the wing. Things went just as expected, sort of. Although he was out of the starting line- up for the third straight game, Abram saw 22 minutes of floor time. He scored five points and showed no signs of pain while out on the court. But in the locker room, it was a different story. "After the game, I took my shoes off, and it swelled up pretty bad," Abram said. THESE RULES THEY ARE A-cHANGIN'?: Michi- gan forward Graham Brown saw his time limited with four fouls. The same for Illi- nois forward James Augustine. Even worse, Illini forward Brian Randle fouled out. Illinois coach Bruce Weber suggests it might be time for a rule change. "It seems like every Big Ten game, the best big men get two fouls and they got to sit and they can't play," Weber said. "Whether it's (Michigan State's Paul) Davis, Augus- tine, (Indiana's Marco) Killingsworth, Sims, maybe we've got to look at six fouls. You want your best players on the court." NOTES: Michigan guard Daniel Horton moved into No. 25 of the all-time Michigan scoring list with 1,257 points. ... Sims now places fourth in Wolverine history with 151 blocks. ... The game was sold out, with 16,618 fans in attendance. 0 PLAYERS OF THE GAME Daniel Horton Michigan Horton used 17 second-half points to bring the Wolverines to a brief lead after they trailed by 11 at half- time. He finished the game with 19 points and a team-high five assists. Dee Brown Illinois Brown scored a game-high 26 points, making five 3-pointers and going 9-for-10 from the line. He also tied Horton for the game's top honors with five assists. W HAT DID YOU SAY? "We don't want to take positives out of this, we came up short." - Junior guard Dion Harris on the team's mindset following another close loss at the end of a game. KEY STAT In the last 7:22, Daniel Horton was the 7.22lone Wolverine to make a field goal. SATURDAY'S GAME ILLINOIS 79 Player MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A F PTS Augustine 33 9-11 5-6 3-9 1 4 23 Randle 31 3-6 2-3 5-6 3 5 9 Pruitt 18 2-6 0-1 1-6 0 4 4 Brown 40 6-17 9-10 1-2 5 1 26 McBride 26 2-7 0-0 0-0 3 3 5 Smith 23 2-6 0-0 0-2 0 1 6 Carter 14 0-2 4-4 0-3 0 0 4 Arnold 15 1-5 0-0 1-4 1 2 2 TEAM 2-3 FOREST CASEY/Daily Junior Courtney Sims went 5-for-10 from the field on Saturday, netting 16 points against Illinois. Iright picks up another win and closes gap on Bell's point lead. Scoring system: (last game's points, overall points, single-game wins) TEAM TOTALS 200 1 25-60 20-24 13-35 13 201 79 Kevin Wright (D. Horton, J. Shepherd, B. Petway, T. Sanchez, P. DeVries) (27, 268, 5) Jack Herman (L Abram, R. Coleman, J. Smith, K. Price) (13, 237, 3) When Brent Petway covered half of the court in three steps and threw down a dunk in the second half, I was dancing back on defense with him. After a subpar first half, Daniel Horton once again rose to almost lead the Wolverines to the upset victory over the Illini. But Petway was the deciding factor in the secondshalf. His eight points helped to spark Michigan's comeback. He came up with key blocks and electrifying dunks. Lester Abram returned to the court after missing the first two games due to a foot injury. Although his 22 minutes of playing time didn't alarm me - he looked fine on the court - his reaction in the locker room did. Hopefully, he'll soon be back to 100 percent. Jerret Smith got his third start of the year and made it count. In the second half, Smith hit a big 3-point- er to start the frame and another one later on to bring the score within two. Courtney Sims finally stepped it up. Even though he shot one of the worst percentages of the year (still a solid 50 percent performance), he shot, and that's what's key. He showed aggression early, and it equated to 16 points, something Michigan fans hadn't seen since the end of nonconference play. I still couldn't pull out the win, though. Early on, it looked good when Graham Brown had six points in the first two minutes, but him not shooting in the last 38 didn't help. The good news: Hayes Grooms seems to be finding his way into games lately. Sure, he only played 30 seconds. But he has a better chance to score in the game than on the bench. The bad news: My two players who actually play both seem to be in a funk now. Dion Harris made a oouple of big free throws, but also missed a couple of huge shots down the stretch. Chris Hunter, meanwhile, squandered two scoring opportunities by traveling and netted just two points for the sec- ond consecutive game. Player MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A Brown 21 3-3 0-0 1-3 1 4 6 Sims 29 5-10 6-6 1-4 0 2 16 Smith 23 3-4 0-1 0-2 1 1 8 Horton 39 7-16 3-3 1-2 5 2 19 Harris 34 3-9 4-4 1-3 2 4 10 Grooms 0+ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Petway 16 2-4 4-6 1-6 0 3 a Coleman 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 O Hunter 13 1-4 0-0 2-5 0 1 2 Abram 22 1-2 2-2 0-2 1 3 5 TEAM 2-4 FG%: 41.7 FT%: 83.3 3-point FG: 9-23, .391 (Brown 5-10, Smith 2-4, McBride 1-6, Randle 1-2, Carter 0-1). Blocks: 4 (Augustine 2, Randle 2). Steals: 3 (Augustine, Brown, Pruitt). Turnovers: 9 (McBride 3, Brown 2, Smith 2, Arnold, Team). Technical fouls: None. MICHIGAN 74 TEAM TOTALS 200 25-54 19-221 9-31 10 20 74 FG%: 46.3 FT%: 86.4 3-point FG: 5-11, .455 (Horton 2-5, Smith 2-2, Abram 1-1, Harris 0-2, Hunter 0-1). Blocks: 3 (Sims 2, Hunter 1). Steals: 3 (Harris, Petway, Abram). Turnovers: 11 (Sims 3, Hunter 3, Abram 2, Brown, Horton, Smith). Technical fouls: None. F J PTS Michigan.......... 28 Illinois............39 46 - 74 40 - 79 At: Assembly Hall Attendance: 16,618 'M' STATS Player GP Min Pts R A" FOREST CASEY/Daily Senior Daniel Horton went toe-to-toe with Illinois star Dee Brown Saturday. 12 of Michigan's final 14 points. In his senior campaign, Horton is at last living up to the promise he showed as a freshman. He's a smart player, with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turn- over ratio. He's a deadly shooter, draining 47 percent of his field goals. This year, especially, he's saved his best for crunch time. All Horton needs is a little help from his friends. In my last column, I discussed the Michael Jordan effect - the Wolverines' tendency to stand around and watch while Horton works his magic. To their credit, that wasn't quite the case Saturday. In the last couple of minutes, other Michigan players had oppor- tunities to contribute. Harris missed an open trey off a perfect pass from Horton and failed to convert a run- ning scoop shot less than a minute later. Augustine stuffed Courtney Sims with a minute to go. If one or two of those shots fell, Michigan likely would've left Champaign with a victory. No one should blame Horton for his last-second miss. Instead, fault his teammates, who failed to convert a field goal for the last 7:33. Everyone is sick of watching this type of loss. The Wolverines have spent much of the last three years attempting to prove they could hang with the big boys. Well, after three near-wins against top-25 teams, it's clear they can. Now, if Michigan has any aspirations - beyond the NIT - it needs to finally learn how to finish. - Matt Singer can be reached at matising Cumich.edu. Scott Bell (C. Sims, G. Brown, S. Harrell, A. Brzozowicz) (22, 283, 3) Horton 14 34.5 16.0 2.6 5.6 Sims 14 26.8 14.6 7.1 0.6 Abram 12 29.8 12.0 3.3 1.3 Harris 14 30.7 10.1 3.6 2.9 Hunter 14 16.3 5.7 3.6 0.5 Petway 3 12.7 5.7 3.3 0 Brown 14 24.1 5.4 7.6 1.0 Coleman 14 13.7 3.9 2.4 0.4 Smith 12 15.5 3.2 1.1 .3 Shepherd 12 10.6 2.3 1.3 0.6 Grooms 8 2.6 0.6 0.1 0.3. Ba 7 2.1 0.4 0.3 0 Harrell 6 1.5 0.3 0.5 0.2 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Big Ten Overall Matt Singer (D. Harris, C. Hunter, A. Ba, H. Grooms) (12, 230, 3) Wisconsin 4-0 14-2 Illinois 2-1 16-1 Indiana 2-1 10-3 Iowa 2-1 13-4 Ohio State 2-2 12-2 Mich. State 2-2 14-4 Northwestern 2-2 9-6 Michigan 1-2 11-3 Penn State 1-2 9-5 Purdue 1-3 7-8 SATURDAY'S RESULTS: PURDUE 72, Minnesota 55; WISCONSIN 68, Northwestern 52; ILLINOIS 79, Michigan 74 SUNDAY'S RELKS Michigan State 62, OHIO STATE 59 I Minnesota 0-3 9-5 .... . .._ i __