40
8A - Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Blue
beats
down
Aggies
By DANIEL BROMWICH
Daily Sports Editor
Utah State is known for over-
coming big deficits.
Michigan collapsed down the
stretch in
key losses UTAH STATE 58
to Iowa MICHIGAN 68
and Ohio
State this
season.
So when the Aggies cut the Wol-
verines' 12-point halftime lead to
one with just more than eight min-
utes remaining in the first round
of the National Invitational Tour-
nament (NIT) last night, the 3,114
loyal fans at Crisler Arena let out a
nearly audible groan.
But it turned out there was noth-
ing to worry about.
In his final home game, captain
and fifth-year senior Lester Abram
carried Michigan to a 68-58 victory
over Utah State in the second half.
"We knew they were going to
have their run," senior Brent Pet-
way said. "But I was glad to see that
we were able to bounce back and
get the lead back up."
In the Western Athletic Confer-
ence (WAC) Tournament Champi-
onship last week, Utah State trailed
16-2 less than five minutes into the
game and the deficit was still 10 at
halftime. But the Aggies battled
back and had a chance to tie the
game with two seconds remaining
when a Jaycee Carroll 3-pointer fell
short at the buzzer.
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
had seen tape of Utah State and
knew full well of the Aggies' come-
back capability and told his team to
start being more aggressive.
Abram listened.
The Pontiac native completed
an old-fashioned three-point play
to stretch the lead back to four. He
grabbed a tough rebound on the
defensive end that led to two Jer-
. The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Few ans come
out for NIT
T he fans in the sparse log suit in Siberia.
crowd at yesterday's And whether or not Michigan
National Invitation has done anything to deserve a
Tournament raucous crowd at a second-rate
game may not postseason tournament, the 3,114
beMarinesbut strong who did show up (minus
they could've paper-bag head) gave a first-rate
been called the effort.
proud and the e "I was very pleased with the
few. crowd that we had this evening,"
With fewer Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
fans than a said. "This particular group this
typical wom- H. JOSE evening gave us great energy,
en's gym- BOSCH and I thought they were tremen-
nastics meet dous with helping us with this
watching, it all victory."
ended. The turnovers. The stu- This wasn't just a throwaway
pid plays. The mock turtlenecks. comment at the end of the press
All of it has seen its last action in conference. With his coaching
Crisler Arenathis season. life guaranteed for at least one
And considering all the empty more game, Amaker began his
seats, most Wolverine fans conference with the above quote.
couldn't care less. Talk about appreciation.
It's been a difficult year. It's Regardless of how bad Michi-
been a difficult six years. With gan has played this season,
the exception of the 2004 NIT everyone who was at the game
Championship run, the Michigan last night cheered with just as
men's basketball team has given much enthusiasm as they did
fans no reason for optimism. during the first few weeks of the
So it's understandable why any year - when there was still hope
rational-thinking student would and Crisler still had that new-
rather enjoy the weather at home season smell.
instead of making the trek to Last night, the fans didn't have
South Campus to sit in a stuffy, to go to Crisler. It would've been
old arena and watch mediocre easy to chill on the front porch,
basketball. open a cold one and enjoy the
The first really warm day after nice, cool breeze until the game
a long, cold winter is one of the began on ESPN2; or to go into
greatest days of the year. And a bar, chow down on chicken
yesterday- that first really warm wings and watch Brent Petway
day - was ruined by the opening finish another pretty ally-oop on
round of the NIT. For those of us the big screen.
who were at Crisler Arena, the But they didn't. They came,
scene was depressing. they saw and they cheered.
The crowd didn't even fill The real March Madness
up the lower bowl. The upper begins tomorrow, andso does the
bowl sat almost entirely empty, pandemonium that ensues with
and even a fan wore a paper bag brackets busting and Dick Vitale
over his head while holding up screaming while dreams come
various signs that voiced his dis- true or turn into nightmares.
pleasure with the program. Not So, it's easy to forget the 11
exactly Cameron Indoor-esque. players who will be on the out-
Or even Crisler Arena-esque side, looking in. The ugly step-
circa the early '90s (because of sisters forced to watch on the
NCAA sanctions that lastremark sidelines as Cinderella dances
has been struck from the official with the prince.
record). Easy for everyone but those
But the term fan derives from that came to the game last night.
the word fanatic, and that's what The few, the proud, the Michi-
you have to be to get yourself up gan fanatics.
for this tournament and to drop
all the inhibitions that say this - Bosch can be reached
run is more useless than a bath- at hectobos@umich.edu.
4
0
CLIF REEDER/Daily
Fifth-year senior Lester Abram led a late Michigan charge to clinch the Wolverines' 68-58 win over Utah State in the NIT.
ret Smith free throws. And after
another Wolverine stop, Abram led
the charge down the court, finish-
ing the fast break with a layup for
an eight-point Michigan lead.
"It was good to see (Abram)
get assertive again," Petway said.
"We've been telling him to stay
aggressive."
Perhaps inspired by its leader,
Michigan continued the run. Smith
- who tallied a team-high 15 points
- added a 3-pointer and two free
throws, and the Wolverines used
the 12-0 run to gain an insurmount-
able lead.
Utah State did its part, too, fail-
ing to score for more than seven
minutes in the second half.
Some of the Aggies' struggles
can be attributed to Michigan's suf-
focating defense.
"We knew we had to get a few
stops," Amaker said. "This team
was down big in a few games that I
happened to watch on film, andthey
were able to always battle back."
Utah State (23-12) stuck close
to the Wolverines for most of the
first half last night until freshman
DeShawn Sims stepped up.
After a mostly disappointing
regular season, Sims has found
his game in postseason play. He
appeared more confident against
Minnesota and Ohio State in the
Big Ten Tournament, shooting So
percent or better in each game. He
scored eight and six points, respec-
tively.
But last night's first stanza proved
to be his official coming-out party.
With Michigan's lead at two,
Sims scored seven consecutive
points for Michigan (22-12). He
knocked down two jump shots and
finished a tough basket while being
fouled to extend the lead.
"DeShawn was aggressive; he
was very active; he just looked like
he was on a little bit of a mission
right there," Amaker said.
Asked ifhis career-high tally ofl4
points signified he was finally com-
fortable on the floor after pressing
too much earlier in the season, Sims
indicated he wasn't satisfied.
"This is as good as I've felt so
far," Sims said. "But it's not as good
as I'm goingto feel when it's all over
with."
It's not clear whether"it"referred
to the rest of the NIT Tournament
or his future at Michigan.
Either way, Wolverine fans have
somethingto look forward to.
0
d
COLLE
THE ROAD
-OCKEY FANS Two-way player,
JECOMESTA captain speaks up
a
By AMBER COLVIN
Daily Sports Editor
When senior defenseman Matt
Hunwick suited up for his first
game as a member of the Michigan
hockey team, no one knew what he
would turn into.
"Hunwick was quiet," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "He was
shy. I don't think anybody labeled
him right away as a potential cap-
tain."
But two years after his debut,
the Sterling Heights native had an
'A' stitched to his jersey. For his
senior year, that turned to a'C.'
Now, the captain is steering his
team as it ventures further into the
CCHA Playoffs. The Wolverines
take on Michigan State this Friday,
and, as a good leader should, Hun-
wick jumpstarted Michigan's post-
season effort with a great example.
The Wolverines were kicking
off the CCHA playoffs against
Northern Michigan in a second-
round bout last Friday. The game
was scoreless, Michigan was on
the power play and Hunwick took
things into his own hands.
The blue liner received a neu-
tral-zone pass from alternate cap-
tain T.J. Hensick, skated up the left
wing and stunned Wildcat goalie
Brian Stewart, whipping a shot
from the left circle over Stewart's
glove.
All this from a guy who was
named a finalist for the CCHA
Defensive Defenseman of the Year
award.
Hunwick is currently tied for
13th on the career goals for list for
Michigan defensemen. And with
two games remaining in the CCHA
playoffs, not to mention the loom-
ingNCAATournament, he'sbound
to move up even further on that
list. A slow offensive start to the
year hurt him, but he still boasts a
6-20-26 line for the season.
The back liner - who went from
a single score in his freshman cam-
paign to 11 goals his junior season,
all the while maintaining a healthy
plus/minus in the mid-teens - has
developed into a dangerous two-
way player. Berenson chalks it up
to his skating prowess, maturity
and increasing poise on the ice.
"It's been a classic sign of a play-
er developing into a complete play-
er," Berenson said. "He slowly got
more confidence with the puck and
then realized he could skate and
join the offense. ... His junior year
he kind of put it all together. Now,
he's a captain."
Hunwick also feels he's natu-
rally matured into an offensive
defenseman. But the guy he skates
with on the blue line, star sopho-
more Jack Johnson, has helped it
a bit, too.
"Playing with a guy like Jack,
obviously he rubs off on you a little
bit," Hunwick said.
Johnson is a finalist for the
CCHA Offensive Defenseman of
the Year award and set the record
for goals by a Michigan sophomore
defenseman this season with 16.
But no matter what end of the
ice the duo is playing on, each
individual deserves recognition.
BEN SIMON/Daily
Senior Matt Hunwick is a finalist for the CCHA Best Defensive-Defenseman award.
Combined, the two are plus-43 nents in professional leagues are
(Hunwick is plus-22, Johnson plus- worrying about Hunwick.
21) and contributed 60 points to The Boston Bruins drafted Hun-
make Michigan's already-threat- wick in the seventh round (224th
ening offense even more daunting. overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry
The Wolverines have the highest Draft.
goals per game in the NCAA (4.29). Berenson, a successful NHL
"If we're able to jump in the rush player and coach, sees a profes-
and help our forwards, it's huge for sional hockey career budding in
our team," Hunwick said. Hunwick.
"It creates a lot of offense. It "He has the potential to have a
makes the other team have to career at another level," Berenson
worry about more than just T.J. said. "I don'tthinkthere'sanyques-
Hensick, (Andrew) Cogliano, guys tion he has a chance of playing."
like that." Until then, he'll keep scoring
It won't be long before oppo- and stopping goals.
9
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