8 - Friday, February 12, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Blue rolls past Gophers on the road By CHRIS MESZAROS Daily Sports Editor It seemed so familiar - the Michigan men's basketball team held a precarious lead late in the sec- ond half, MICHIGAN 71 and if this MINNESOTA 63 season's pattern persisted, the team would collapse. But under the leadership of senior forwardDeShawn Sims, the Wolverines pulled away from Minnesota and won their second true road win of the season at Williams Arena, 71-63. After going into the half up by just two, Sims and the Wol- verines took over. The senior scored 21 of his 27 points in the second stan- za, shooting 12-of-18 from the floor. He was also dominant in the paint and scored eight straight at one point for the Wolverines (5-7 Big Ten, 12-12 overall). "A good win, we needed it," junior guard Manny Harris said. "We played a great team in Minnesota, we just came out ready to play. DeShawn made big finishes, and everybody made shots, so we needed it." Freshman guard Darius Morris showed poise in the backcourt, and even though he scored just five points in the contest, he eluded the Minne- sota (5-6,14-9) pressure on sev- eral occasions and found the open man, finishing the game with five assists. It was a drastic change from most of this season, when the Wolverines' often lacked vet- eran leadership at point guard, starting either Morris or soph- omore Stu Douglass after both C.J. Lee and David Merritt graduated last year. "I think both teams are the same in the regards in that they don't have their experi- enced point guards," Beilein said. "Don't underestimate the power of the floor general out there. Our two young guards, both of them ... grew up tonight in Douglass and Morris." After the Golden Gophers kept it close for the opening minutes of the second half, Michigan blew the game open. The Wolverines went on a 7-0 run off of two layups from Sims and a 3-pointer from senior forward Zack Gibson, who chipped in eight points off the bench. After taking an 11-point lead with three minutes to play, the Golden Gophers started to apply heavy pressure to Michi- gan. Minnesota's Lawrence Westbrook hit a three to make it an eight-point game and Devoe Joseph hit a layup and free throw to make it even closer. But unlike earlier this sea- son when the Wolverines blew big leads against Northwestern and lost close games at Wiscon- sin and against Michigan State, Michigan kept its composure to close out the win. "Our team has been waiting to play that way for awhile," Beilein said. "We just haven't shot the ball well, we haven't executed like we did tonight. Northwestern, we got down early in the second half, Wis- consin, we got down early in the first half. Today we could stay in it, I only think they took one or two leads." In the final six minutes, Sims hit three key layups to keep Michigan in a comfortable position and on all three bas- kets, he was assisted by junior Fuard Manny Harris, who con- tributed 20. Michigan found from behind the arc. The Wolverines, who have struggled all season from deep, hit 7-of-15 yesterday, their highest percentage of the season. Michigan was particularly effective early in the contest from three-point land as Gib- son, Sims, Harris and sopho- more forward Zack Novak each made threes in the opening eight minutes to help the Wol- verines grab a fast start and a 19-13 lead. "I think we maybe weren't rushing some things," Beilein said. "We've really worked at seeing the floor better. Not run- ning plays but being a player." Michigan's other road victo- ry came when the Wolverines came back from a 16-point half- time deficit at Penn State. This win also halts Michigan's two- game losing streak. And with 10th-place Iowa and 11th-place Penn State on the docket next week, the Wolverines could even start a winning streak of their own. "We treasure ourselves in having small victories every day even if we don't win," Beilein said. "It's always hard when you're coaching a team to stay resilient through a hard season." 'M'9makes new hire on defense By RYAN KARTJE Daily Sports Editor With the pressuresofNationalSigningDaybehind him, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez said his next big decision would be to hire a replacement for Jay Hopson - the Wolverines' former lineback- ers coach who took the defensive coordinator job at Memphis. Rodriguez ended the search after just eight days, hiring staff assistant Adam Braithwaite to fill the void on the defensive coaching staff and coach the outside linebackers and safeties. "We are excited to promote Adam to be our safe- ties/outside linebackers coach," Rodriguez said in an Athletic Department press release. "He has been a loyal hard-working member of our staff for several years and knows our system. I believe he will bring a lot of energy both in coaching and recruiting." Added Braithwaite: "I am grateful for the oppor- tunity that Coach Rodriguez has provided me. It is very flattering that he and the staff think enough of my work ethic and abilities as a coach to elevate me into a full-time position." Rodriguez promised that the assistant coaching position would be "more of a safeties coach than a linebackers coach." As was previously announced, defensive coor- dinator Greg Robinson will coach the linebackers while assistant head coach Tony Gibson will con- tinue to coach the secondary. Gibson will also take on duties as Michigan's special teams' coordinator. Before coming to Michigan with Rodriguez in 2008, Braithwaite spent time as the defensive coor- dinator at Hampden-Sydney College (Va.), a defen- sive graduate assistant at West Virginia and the safeties coach at William & Mary, his alma mater, Braithwaite takes over a position group that struggled mightily last year and could haveahis hands full with outside linebackers who often underachieved and a very unsure group at strong safety. Rodriguez interviewed several other higher pro. file candidates for the job, including former Mar- shall head coach Mark Snyder. 0 TOM OLMSCEItD/E Senior DeShawn Sims accounted for 27 of the Wolverines' points in their 71-63 victory over Minnesota yesterday. Sims scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half as Michigan pulled away from the Golden Gophers. 'M' heads West for keyseries against balanced Mavericks In Close CCHA ers said. "If you're not plus, race, Michigan and they outplay you, there's a chance that we could lose needs solid road this game. Essentially, when Spartans beat Michigan in emoti Crisler matchup to sweepvseasolr effi ort to keep pace BY TIM ROHAN Daily Sports Writer In the Michigan hockey team's locker room, a large board tracks the CCHA stand- ings. In years past, the Wolver- ines have hovered close to the top of the board, but this season Michigan has kept the person responsible for chang- ing the standings very busy. The team was as low as 10th place after a 5-3 loss to Ohio State early in December. But now the Wolverines find themselves in sole possession of fourth place in the confer- ence. And with a measly six points (two wins) separating the Wolverines and the 10th- ranked Buckeyes, Michigan has little breathing room. "We're not out of it at all," junior forward Louie Capo- russo said. "We're a good team, and we're going to be fine if we play up to our poten- tial." This weekend, the Wolver- ines travel to Omaha to take on Nebraska-Omaha in a pivotal late season series. If Michigan (12-9-1-0 CCHA, 17-13- overall) sweeps the Mavericks, it could jump into a third-place tie with Michigan State, which is idle in conference play this week- end. But, if the Wolverines get swept, they could potentially fall right back down to 10th place. To make the task a bit more challenging for Michigan, Nebraska-Omaha is 11-2-2 at home this season, averag- ing 4.5 goals in its last seven games. The Mavericks (10-11-3-2, 14-12-6) boast one of the more balanced offensive attacks in the CCHA. Nebraska-Omaha may not have a single individ- ual player among the top 20 in scoring in the conference, but it boasts nine guys with 17 or more points. "What it comes down to is the line that you're playing against, you have to be plus," assistant coach Billy Pow- you look at the matchups there won't be much separatingguys on paper. It's going to come down to the performance on the ice." In Ferris State and Miami (Ohio), Michigan has faced elite teams with singular tal- ented scoring lines. The fifth- place Mavericks, on the other hand, have three solid scoring lines that have tobe accounted for. But the Wolverines have surged back into the top of the conference scene thanks in part to improved defensive play. Michigan is 7-2-1 in con- ference play since the turn of the calendar year and has three shutouts during that span, including a 4-0 shutout of Bowling Green last Tuesday. Powers credited the improved defense to a total team effort. "There's no question that when our forwards are com- ing back as hard as they were last night and with purpose, it makes our .game a lot easier," Powers said. "Because we can stand up, we know we have support and we're not feel- ing like we're isolated and we have to back in. When we start backing in and giving teams room to get to the hash marks that's when you can get into trouble." The Wolverines have made it clear that one of their goals is to finish in the top-four in the CCHA to gain a first- round bye in the conference tournament. This, weekend could determine that, espe- cially since there are only four games left after this week- end's series, two against Notre Dame and two against North- ern Michigan. For now, Michigan is glad to be in the driver's seat. "If we get ahead of our- selves we're going go right back to where we were," Pow- ers said. "We realize what these points mean. So, we just want to keep moving forward. We know that if we win, and take care of what we're capa- ble of, then we have a great chance of finishing in the top two, three or four. ... Destiny is in our hands." ByZAKPYZIK Daily Sports Writer Krista Phillips couldn't help but tear up at the press conference after the Michigan women's basketball team's 50-45 loss to Michigan State last night at Crisler Arena. It's no wonder Phillips was upset after the game. In an MICHIGAN STATE 50 anticipated MICHIGAN 45 immense struggle between Phillips and Spar- tancenter AllyssaDeHaan, the senior finished with zero points. DeHaan had just four. "I need (Phillips) to defend," Borseth said. "She's a big kid in the game. She didn't have her best offensive night. We had good looks for her. We had to drive around two people, around our own men and Dehaan at the end. I hate to tell a kid not to shoot when she's wide open, wide open." It was a key loss as the Wolverines' season begins to wind down, consid- ering they needed a win to boost their tournament hopes. The Spartans (7-6 Big Ten, 16-8 overall) have now won six straight against Michigan. The contest'started with Phillips getting three passes down low in the first five minutes. All three were attempted layups that she put up above DeHaan and all three rolled off of the rim. The missed layups were a clear sign of the Wolverines struggle to get somethingstarted. But Phillips wasn't the only one who struggled, as the Wolverines (6-8, 14-10) couldn't put it together in the first half. They shot just 30 percent from the field, compared to the Spartans' 42 percent. Besides freshman guard Dayeesha Hollins and junior guard Veronica Hicks, no other player scored more than three points. "We had good looks, and we didn't make them," Borseth said. "We had really good looks, but we didn't make them. Really good looks. And we didn't make them. Why? We were wide open, wide- wide-wide open wide open. We didn't make them." In the second half, it looked like Michigan's offensive woes might have been outweighed by the conser- vative play of the Spartans. Early in the second stanza, Michi- gan tied it up at 25 the Spartans went on a 13-1 run to go up 38-26, just min- utes after. The Wolverines got back in it when Phillips snatched a pass then tossed it all the way downcourt to a wide-open Hicks who finished the layup to bring Michigan within five with less than two minutes remaining. "We were just playing basketball, we were just trying to make plays," Hicks said. "You're not looking at the scoreboard, your looking who's the next to score. (Phillips) then made a great pass down the court to me. And that play opened it up for me." Then, with less than 30 seconds left and Michigan down by five, Hol- lins drove in the lane, finished, and was fouled on the way up. But she missed the freethrow, leavingMichi- gan down three. "We missed the free throw, and then got the rebound," Borseth said. 0 Sophomore Carmen Reynolds drives through the lane in Michigan's loss last night, "We threw that one away." But Michigan State knew all it had to do was inbound it. And the Spar- tans did just that, ending the game from the charity stripe. It wasn't the lack of desire and motivation that paralyzed the Wol- verine offense, it was a lack of execu- tion. "Somebody wanted to make some- thing happen," Borseth said. "And they really wanted. I just looked at the tape of our second half offense pssh, psshhh... It was awful." 0 Green-clad crowd plays big part in defeat By AMY SCARANO Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's basket- ball team trailed for most of its game against Michigan State yesterday after giving up its two-point lead on the Spartans just two minutes into the game. That's when the "Go Green, Go White" cheer resonat- ing from the stands at Crisler Arena became a hazard for the Wolverines. Despite the home-court advan- tage, Michigan State's contingent was large, almost outnumbering the Wolverines. When Michigan fans shouted the customary chant "air ball," Spartan fans were sure to follow suit, and much louder when the Wolverines missed. And what serves as the stu- dent section during the men's bas- ketball games at Crisler was nearly three-quarters green last night. The green-clad fans even remembered pom-poms. "We had a huge green support in the crowd," Michigan State senior Allyssa DeHaan said. "It's always ruthless downhere. We love our sup- port and get it wherever we go." While the pace of the game and the effort put forth by the Wolver- ines can't be compared to the lack- luster crowd spirit, that's not to say the atmosphere inside Crisler last night wasn't a factor in the Spartan's five-point victory. In fact, halfway into the second half when Michigan State had obvi- ously stolen the momentum and was up by 14, a gutsy Spartan fan took it upon himself to stand front and cen- ter in the student section that looked like a sea of green to unify fans all sround him. "One thing I'll tell you is I felt like when we would get loud, it did force the Michigan fans to try to get louder," Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant said. "They were compet- ing against each other too, so it made for a pretty good atmosphere here." And then with a little more than one minute remaining, the Spartans turned over the ball and senior cen- ter Krista Phillips threw a half-court pass to junior guard Veronica Hicks who made the layup despite the Spartan-led commotion. "Ijust want to win and nobody in the crowd can jump on the court and stop me," Hicks said. When Hicks was preparing to shoot a free throw, the only noise in Crisler came from the hecklers from East Lansing. But she didn't lose focus despite the distractions in her home arena. But then Hollins made a shot and was fouled. If she had made the foul shot, Hollins would have brought the Wol- verines within two points with 15 seconds remaining. Every Michigan fan was in their seat. Every Michi- gan State fan on their feet yelling and screaming to distract Hollins - and she missed the shot. When all was set and done, the missed shot didn't mean anything but the 'impact from the opposing crowd was felt throughout every inch of Crisler Arena.