The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I February16, 2009 MICHIGAN70 NORTHWESTERN67 (OT) p MANNY WILD Harris explodes for 26 points, leads 'M' to second road win PAUL BEATY/AP (TOP RIGHT) Sophomore Manny Harris contributed 25 points in the second half in Michigan's 70-67 win. (ABOVE) Junior DeShawn Sims fouled out with eight points in 26 minutes on the court. By ALEX PROSPERI Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - Michigan sophomore Manny Harris couldn't remember the last time he was in "the zone." But during the Michigan men's basketball team's 70-67 over- time victory yesterday at Northwestern, he found it. "Today, I was able to get in the zone," said Harris, who scored 25 points in the second half and overtime. "And that was a good thing." Yesterday's game at Welsh-Ryan Arena was the first of four road trips the Wolverines (6-7 Big Ten, 16-10 overall) will make in their final six games. Entering the game, Michigan had just one road win, a 72-66 victory over Indiana on Jan. 7. Michigan needed to top the Wildcats. And ultimately, the outcome was all in Harris's hands. "I said, 'Fresh, we're going down with you,' " fifth-year senior C.J. Lee said of Harris, whose nickname is "Manny Fresh." "'You're our guy, and you know it. Just do what you do."' Harris scored just one point in the first half, sitting the final 11 minutes of the frame after picking up his second foul. Harris said that early in the season, the two early fouls would have been frustrating. But yesterday, he stayed positive. He came out looking possessed in the second half, scoring the Wolverines' first nine points of the stanza and 12 of their final 17. "Your confidence is so high, and your swagger's up so high," Harris said of being in the zone. "You feel like you're going to make every shot." A loss would have flipped the two squads in the Big Ten stand- ings, dropping the Wolverines to ninth and putting Northwest- ern (4-8,13-10) in eighth. The win moves Michigan just one game behind the logjam for fifth between Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Wol- verines play the Golden Gophers twice and the Badgers once in their final five games. But Harris's effort almost went for naught. The Wolverines blew a five-point lead in the final one minute and 44 seconds of regulation, highlighted by an off-balanced 3-pointer by Northwestern's Kevin Coble. See WILDCATS, Page 3B Turnovers nearly unravel Michigan in Evanston By JASON KOHLER Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - The sound of The Victors echoed out of the visitors locker room in Welsh-Ryan Arena. After five straight road losses, the Wolverines finally had something to cheer about yesterday after they knocked off Northwestern 70-67. All season, Michigan coach John Beilein has stressed the necessity of staying poised on the road. But in the final minutes of the second half, the Wolverines' poise seemed to dissolve as the lanky Wildcat defenders applied theirtrap zone defense. In the last minute and 23 seconds, Michigan's guards turned the ball over three times to let a three-point lead wash away. The most costly of the turnovers came as fifth-year senior C.J. Lee attempted to split two defenders and had the ball slapped out of his hands. The steal set up Northwest- ern forward Kevin Coble's acrobatic 3-pointer that forced overtime. As the Wolverines tried to score a game-winning basket, Lee com- mitted another turnover, giving the Wildcats a chance to win in regula- tion. Heading into the deciding peri- od, Beilein gathered his players and reminded them to stay collected. "You really got to make eye con- tact with your players at that time and say, 'We're in this together. You're going to make this thing hap- pen, but you're going to have to will it to happen. They're not going to go away. They want this as bad as you do. You just got to work your hard- est,' " Beilein said. In the final minutes of overtime, it looked like Michigan might blow its lead again. Freshman guard Stu Douglass turned the ball over with a four- point lead and then junior forward DeShawn Sims fouled out, hitting Coble while he attempted a 3-point shot. Coble hit all three freebies and' Michigan's lead dwindled to one. But the Wolverines showed their poise in one crucial area that ended up being the difference maker - free throws. Lee and forward sophomore for- ward Manny Harris both stepped to the charity stripe in the closing moments and knocked down key free throws. "I'm kind of calm on the free- throw end," Harris said. "I thinkI'm going to make a lot of shots, but my wrist was kind of bothering me the last couple games, and I was missing a couple free throws that I should make. Iwas just telling myself,'Your wrist don't hurt. It don't hurt.You're going to make every free throw.' " Harris hit 9-of-10free throws and Michigan scored 21 points from the line in a game that was tightly offici- ated with many touch fouls. Although the Wolverines' poise wasn't as solid as Beilein would have liked, he knows how difficult it can be to win on the road in the Big Ten. See ROAD WIN, Page 3B Depth a good sign down the stretch n the Michigan hockey team's d press conference follow- ing Saturday's 4-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha, sophomore for- ward Louie Caporusso sat on the " right of the table and senior goalie Billy Sauer on the left. Caporusso, who is second in the country -. with 22 goals, posted three assists in the victory. Sauer, who set single- season pro- MICHAEL gram records EISENSTEIN for goals- against aver- age and save percentage last year, < stopped 28 of 30 shots Saturday. N But it was the freshman for- ward sitting between them - a e one-time walk-on - who scored' the final two goals in the Wolver- ines' comeback win, including an empty netter, in the final five min- utes of the game. Meet Luke Glendening, the team's fourth-line right-winger. Glendening's first goal gave Michigan its first lead of the game ANNA BAKEMAN/Daily with 4:28 remaining. And his Freshman Luke Glendening tallied two goals in Saturday's third period to secure Michigan's sweep of the Mavericks. second lamp-lighter of the game, his fifth of the year, put the Mav- coach Red Berenson said. "It's Junior Brian Lebler, who had Overall, nine different Wolver- ericks away with 35 seconds left nice to see a kid like that - a kid just three total goals last season, ines scored in Michigan's season- on the clock. The win guaranteed that nobody knew much about has scored in three consecutive high 12-goal weekend. the Wolverines a first-round bye coming in. And here he is, playing games. "It's just nice to know that you in the CCHA Tournament and regular every night, and he's mak- And sophomore forward Ben got a bunch of guys on the team home-ice advantage in the quar- ing a difference on our team." Winnett, who was a healthy that, when it's crunch time, any- terfinals. Sure, they might have been scratch against both Notre Dame body can pick it up," Lebler said. "(Glendening) got out there on "right-place, right-time" goals. and Michigan State a few weeks And that depth is particularly Louie's line on a change, and that But Glendening's performance ago, scored a shorthanded goal reassuring for the Wolverines as was a huge goal for us," Michigan was just the tip of the iceberg. Friday to extend Michigan's lead. See EISENSTEIN, Page 4B Blue goes winless at ITA Indoor Nationals By MARK BURNS Daily Sports Writer Three matches against top-20 opponents. Three losses. One miserable weekend - or was it? The No. 18 Michigan men's tennis team competed in the ITA National Team Indoor Champion- ship this weekend in Chicago with high hopes of performing well against the country's top competi- tion. After three days of intense, hard-fought matches, Michigan coach Bruce Berque and the Wol- verines (5-4) had zero wins to show for their effort. "This weekend was an opportu- nity to compete in some matches that were not originally on our schedule," Berque said. "I knew there was the possibility of coming away with no wins, but I thought we could at least win one match." After falling to No. 2 Texas on Friday (4-0) and No. 7 Florida on Saturday -(4-1), the Wolverines looked to gain some positive expe- riences from the weekend. Michigan began play yesterday against No. 16 Florida State, hop- ing to win its first doubles point on the weekend. But the Wolverines' drought continued with a loss. "Our doubles did not provide us with the start we wanted all week- end," Berque said. Michigan regrouped after the doubles disappointment, need- ing to win four of the six singles matches to come away with the win. With the singles score knot- ted at two matches apiece, junior George Navas won his match in three sets (3-6, 6-1, 6-1). The win set the stage for sophomore Jason Jung to clinch the match with a win. But Jung fell to 30th-ranked Jean-Yves Aubone, giving the Seminoles the 4-3 match victory. The Wolverines' third loss in three days was not necessarily a setback, according to Berque. But Michigan's inability to come away with the doubles point in all three matches proved to be the biggest disappointment on the weekend. The bounces weren't going the right way for the Wolverines yes- terday, and Berque felt the players allowed their emotions to affect their performance, something Michigan can't afford to let hap- pen if it plans to grab a second straight Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament. "It wasn't a lack of focus," Ber- que said, "But it was a feeling sor- ry-for-yourselves mentality that hurt us." Berque hopes his team can be more resilient and competitive next weekend as Michigan hosts Harvard at the Varsity Tennis Center. "The level of our abilities hasn't changed," Berque said. "We need to remember we played against some great competition. Ifwe start to practice better and continue to stay confident, we'll be fine." if sASECON AWA * Catchers proves herself as legitimate a; Minnesota banked a 3-pointer in the wan- offensive threat in the Michigan softball ing moments to squeak past the struggling a' team's impressive weekend. Page 3B. Michigan women's basketball team. Page 2B. i