S portslVonday
N
I
I
y
The team no one
wanted has its moment
Red-hot NJIT stuns
Michigan at Crisler
W ith 13.6 seconds left
in one of the great-
est upsets
in college
basketball
history, Al-
Tariq Lynn
was two
rows behind
the visitor's
bench, smil-
ing from ear BUTMA
to ear. New
Jersey Insti-
tute of Technology coach Jim
Engles was tense, not caving in
to the optimism Lynn exuded
eight feet behind him.
NJIT wasn't supposed to
have a prayer Saturday. No. 17
Michigan was going to roll the
Highlanders, then put in its
substitutes and roll them some
more.
"Coming into the season, I
sort of penciled this one in as an
'L,"' Engles would later say.
This was a team coming off a
Final Four and an Elite Eight in
its last two seasons against the
lone independent in Division
I men's college basketball - a
team that's independent for a
reason.
No one wanted the NJIT
Highlanders, the team that
went 0-29 in 2007-08. They've
been trying to get into the
America East for years, but the
league won't take them.
But here's the thing about
the team no one wants: it's
made up of players that no one
wanted - no one except NJIT.
And when a team like that
gets a national stage against a
ranked opponent, they tend to
remember how unwanted they
once were. They play better
than they're supposed to. They
play better than maybe they
even are.
And Michigan coach John
Beilein knew they would.
"Those guys, the crowds
don't faze them," he said.
"Those guys live on the road."
That's what happened
Saturday when Damon Lynn, the,
Highlanders freshman guard
who wanted to playat Michigan,
dropped 20on the Wolverines.
He saw every Derrick Walton
Jr. 3-pointer and matched it. He
wasn't fazed by Caris LeVert's
bank shot and kept going. What
did he have to lose?
So Lynn's dad, Al-Tariq,
stood there with time frozen,
smiling and remembering how
See BULTMAN, Page 2B
Nation's only
Division I
independent knocks
off No.17 Michigan
By JAKE LOURIM
Daily Sports Editor
Appalachian State had
Armanti Edwards in 2007. New
Jersey Institute of Technology
had Damon Lynn on Saturday.
Lynn scored 20 points as
NJIT pulled off one of the
biggest upsets in college
basketball history, shocking
the Michigan men's basketball
team at Crisler Center, 72-70.
NJIT, which joined Division
I in 2006, went'0-29 in 2007-08
and is the nation's only Division
I independent, pulled it off
when freshman guard Aubrey
Dawkins' desperate last-second
full-court shot fell well short at
the buzzer.
With 4.3 seconds left, NJIT's
Daquan Holiday sank two free
throws to make it a three-
point game. The Highlanders
fouled Michigan freshman
forward Kameron Chatman on
purpose with 2.6 seconds left.
Chatman made the first free
throw and missed the second
intentionally, but NJIT pulled
down the rebound with 1.2
seconds left, and the fans began
to file out of Crisler Center.
"New Jersey deserved to
win the game today," said a
despondent Michigan coach
John Beilein. "They were the
better team today."
Four days removed from a
win over Syracuse, Saturday
was a lesson in consistency for
a young Michigan team, and the
Highlanders were more than
willing to capitalize. They shot
59 percent and made 1i of 17
attempts from beyond the arc.
Lynn was 6-for-10 from long
range, including two step-back
daggers in the final 4:32 that
helped preserve the lead.
Still, with less than a minute
left, NJIT had the ball and led
by only one. Michigan forced
a miss as the shot clock went
down, but after a battle for
possession under the basket,
Holiday emerged with the
ball. The Wolverines fouled
him immediately, and he lay
outstretched on the floor,
pumping his fists with victory
imminent.
See NJIT, Page 20
HE MEANS BUSINESS
U Athletic Director Jim Hackett is here
to stay, as he proved in Tuesday's press
conference.
SportsMonday Column, Page 2B
FRESHMAN WALL
Michigan needs more out of its
freshmen to accompany the scoring of its
four veterans, writes Simon Kaufman.
Page 4B