Spartans retake control of rivalry with easy 'W'
<br> by Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports WriterJanuary 20th, 2004
EAST LANSING — The gap between the Michigan State and
Michigan basketball programs might be closing, but you never
would’ve known by watching Saturday’s game.
In their last meeting, the Wolverines finally ended an
eight-game losing streak to the Spartans with a thrilling two-point
win last year in Ann Arbor. And Michigan sat at 10-3 overall before
Saturday’s game, while Michigan State, frequently overmatched
in nonconference play, held a 6-7 record.
But the Spartans outplayed the Wolverines for 30-plus minutes on
Saturday afternoon, including most of the second half. Michigan
State’s easy 71-54 win at the Breslin Center re-established
its status as the superior program in the state of Michigan.
For the first 10 minutes of the game, Michigan looked like a
confident team with the chance to steal a win on the road. Michigan
led 19-15 halfway through the first frame behind nine points by
guard Daniel Horton.
But the Wolverines would go more than nine minutes before
scoring their next field goal — missing 11 straight shots and
turning the ball over eight times in the process — which
allowed the Spartans to go on a 17-4 run to close out the first
half.
Michigan trailed 32-23 at the break.
“What really hurt us was our turnovers right before the
half,” said Horton, who led Michigan 20 points. “Our
turnovers hurt us in key stretches of the game.”
The Spartans maintained a lead around 10 points for most of the
second half, but couldn’t put the Wolverines away. Michigan
fought back to pull within eight points with 11:38 remaining on a
tip-in by J.C. Mathis.
But Paul Davis scored eight straight points for the Spartans
— his last two coming on an offensive rebound after a missed
free throw — to push his team’s lead to 13 and put the
game out of reach.
Michigan trailed by double-digits for the last 7:53 of the
game.
“We absolutely need to get tougher,” Michigan coach
Tommy Amaker said. “You need that, especially on the road and
in a tough environment. You need to be mentally tough and need to
do all the little things.”
The Wolverines (1-2 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) struggled to find any
rhythm offensively for much of the afternoon.
The shooting troubles which plagued Michigan against Indiana
last weekend were present again in East Lansing, as the team
totaled just 36 percent shooting (17-for-47).
“We’re definitely struggling right now. The shots
aren’t dropping for us,” Michigan senior Bernard
Robinson said. “We definitely have to find our shots —
that’s the key to us winning. I think we played solid enough
defense, but when the offense isn’t clicking, I think that
hurts on both ends.”
Robinson, who had been consistently solid on offense this
season, was held to just five points on 2-for-8 shooting and
committed seven turnovers.
Michigan State sophomore Paul Davis — the team’s
leading scorer averaging 14.7 points per game — had his way
inside with Michigan defenders for most of the contest. With the
exception of having his shots blocked twice by Courtney Sims early
in the first frame, Davis routinely caught the ball in good post
position and capitalized on the opportunities, finishing the game
with a game-high 22 points for the Spartans (2-1, 7-7).
Davis also kept Michigan’s big men in check by getting
them into foul trouble. Sims was effective in the first half but
was limited to just 16 minutes of action, spending the stretch run
of the game on the bench with four fouls.
Davis earned his way to the line for 11 free throw attempts,
capitalizing on nine.
“He really wanted the ball in the huddles; he wanted us to
go to him,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
Michigan State junior Chris Hill, who was sick before the game
with an upset stomach, was held to just eight points, but Maurice
Ager picked up slack for the Spartans, connecting for nine
points.
Michigan hasn’t beaten Michigan State at the Breslin
Center since 1996, when the Wolverines won 76-54.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 26 May 2012 19:06:38 -0400