10A - Thursday, November 16, 2006 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Controlling the paint, Sims keeps Blue perfect a By H. JOSE BOSCH Daily Sports Editor Last night, forward Courtney Sims's game echoed the sentiments of the phrase tattooed on his right arm: "No joke." Carrying the team on his back, Sims scored 10 of Michigan's final 15 points, and the Wolverines defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 66-59, at Crisler Arena last night. Sims finished with a game-high 26 points, including 21 in the second half. "It was nice to get that kind of production out of Courtney," Mich- igan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I thought he was very tough for them to stop. We had a size advantage and we went to it." With Michigan struggling to pull away from the Panthers in the sec- ond half, Sims was a major force in the paint and the Wolverines' only consistent player. During the game's closing min- utes, there was no doubt Sims was getting the ball on the offensive side off the court. It was hard not to ignore his 6-foot-10 frame demand- ing the ball down low. And with every made bucket, the boisterous crowd of more than 8,000 roared, giving Sims the boost he needed to keep on attacking the net. The forward's play made the atmosphere feel a little more than just an early season nonconference game. Sims is no stranger to impres- sive starts. Last season, the Boston native put up big numbers against weak nonconference foes to begin the year but then faded into medi- ocrity during the Big Ten season. It remains to be seen if the same thing will happen to him this season, but after four games, Sims isn't looking like the same player critics called "weak" a year ago. Rather than roaming the paint without a sense of direction, Sims is finding an opponent's body, post- ing up and looking for the ball. But his aggressiveness has also helped him on the boards. Against Wiscon- sin-Milwaukee (1-3), he grabbed 10 rebounds. "Coach is on me about getting double-doubles and averaging one," Sims said, "so, I want to always get 10 rebounds at least." When the night began, it didn't look like Michigan (4-0) would need the play of one player to put down the Panthers. The Wolverines opened up the game with an 8-0 run, capped off by a Dion Harris field goal. Then the tide turned against Michigan as the Panthers began hitting 3- pointers. Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit three shots from beyond the arc during a 10-2 run that tied the game. From that point on, the Wolverines' pres- sure defense became sluggish and their offense couldn't control the ball. Michigan shot an abysmal 32 percent from the field including just 1-for-S from 3-point range. And seven of the nine players who saw action committed turnovers en route to a 1:2 assist to turnover ratio in the first half. That's when Sims decided to do something. With Michigan trailing after the first half, Sims opened up the sec- ond frame with a basket to tie the game at 27. Three minutes later and trailing by five, Sims notched another field goal, which sparked a 12-0 run that put Michigan up 41- 36. The Panthers came within one at 9:19 and two at 7:52, but each time, Sims scored to extend the Wolver- ines' lead. "I have to be a leader on the team," Sims said. "We had strong leaders last year. So I know I have to step up my leadership and demand the ball and I have to be a big pres- ence on the floor." The Wolverines finally decided to go down low more often, and the move paid off. Led by senior Les- ter Abram's five assists in the sec- ond half, Michigan recorded nine assists to just five turnovers. Despite the performance by Sims down low, Amaker would still like to see more balance in the offense. He said that the 1-for-9 3-point shooting was a "telling story" about the team's confidence level and inability to hit big shots from out- side in the second half. But until the guard play becomes more consistent, the Wolverines have no problem feeding the ball to Sims down low. "You have to get it to him," sophomore guard Jarrett Smith said. "When you get to that final moment, you know who needs the ball. Obviously, today it wasn't any of our guards, it was Courtney." AD TRIP Earl m page 9A can bri and ofl come t s against so the road can bring with ac the best in that aspect of our "Eve road),a ven though Michigan has found team t sack of the net with regularity, Rohlfs ingthe NCAAwith 4.9goals per Unli e, it ranks 35th in goals against players age (3.30). family se Wolverines have shown the require bility to jump on opponents time to y, scoring the first goal in seven restaur s 10 games. The problem has The allowing power-play goals that hour r eams back into games - Michi- Rapids has the second worst penalty on the n the CCHA. trip ou Senior Courtney Sims scored 26 points in Michigan's 66-59 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee last night. ITI I1'llU III ITIUV VLO EVERY OTHER SATURDAY NIGHT DONNIE DARKO DIRECTOR'S CUT! RSATURDAY, NOVn 18 @- MIDNIGHT FORORE INFO VISIT WWW.MICHTHEATER.ORG/STATE.PHP y in the season, road games ing a team together both on T the ice. Many times, teams ogether when they are faced dversity. eryone hates you (on the and it's just the guys on your hat you have," senior David said. ke home games where the hang out with friends and afterward, the road games the players to spend all their gether - in the hotel, at the ant or on the bus. team will make the three- north-westward trek to Big tonight and spend the night road, whereas it made a day t-of the Michigan State road game. "This is an opportunity for our team to come together, get closer and tighter," Powers said. "We're looking at this as a chance to come together." This week's journeys will fore- shadow the remainderof Michigan's season. Seventeen of its final 26 games are played away from Yost to balance the home-heavy start. The Wolverines will be on the road for the final four weeks of the season. But with the playoffs looming at the end of the season, Powers believes that Michigan's road fin- ish might prepare them for physical style of playoff hockey. Maybe traveling on the road will make all the-difference. TWO MORE DAYS. SAY YOUR PRAYERS. DAILY SPORTS. Our cantors have enthralled thousands of congregants, hundreds of students, and the oniy Yiddish theater audience in the nation. From the early age of eight, Cantor Arianne Slack knew exactly what she wanted to be. Inspired by her own synagogue cantor (another H. L. Miller Cantorial School graduate), Arianne began an educational process that led her to H. L. Miller Cantorial School at P ITS and her current position as Cantor of Temple Beth El in New London, Connecticut. But she didn't stop there. Today, Arianne performs with the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre in New York, and creates her own music with an all- female trio, Ashira, that will soon be releasing its first CD. Cantor Slack is just one of the hundreds of graduates of the school who have gone on to rewarding careers in religious leadership, liturgical music and Jewish education, serving communities all around the world. In fact, based on her great experience, Arianne is now continuing her Jewish education at another of ITS's schools: William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education. To find out more about H. L. Miller Cantorial School, call (212) 678-8037 1s Hember, olksbiene vii Yiddish Theater group or visa www.jtsa.edulcs. New York City *JTSc H.L. Miller Cantorial School r z-4 a r) 0 m 0n 6 0 a S -,-