Daniel Horton started the contest looking like he would set the world on fire. It just didn’t catch until the second half.
The Michigan freshman swished a 3-pointer 21 seconds into Saturday’s game with Northwestern. But Horton went into the break with seven points on 2 of 6 shooting and his team down by eight.
But when Michigan found itself facing a double-digit deficit, Horton sparked a four-minute comeback by hitting the first of his four second-half 3-pointers 35 seconds after the break. Then, 4:27 into the half, the guard capped the run by notching an assist by creating a 3-point opportunity for Lester Abram that knotted the game at 45.
When the Wildcats brought the game back to within two points, it was two Horton treys — bookending a free throw — that gave the Wolverines a nine-point lead with 4:30 left.
“(Horton) is a kid who always senses the moment,” Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. “Every time there was a huge basket for us, it seemed like he made it. He has a knack for it.”
Horton finished the second half 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. His 22 points and five assists were both game highs.
Sixth Man: When Winston Blake entered the game for Jimmy Maley with 12:26 in the first half, it marked the first time in three years the NU senior had come off the bench (not counting one game when he was injured).
NU coach Bill Carmody made the decision to bench Blake after his 0-for-4 shooting, zero-point night in the Cats’ 71-57 loss to Indiana on Wednesday.
Blake was tentative early on offense in his new role, committing a turnover on a drive to the basket.
But then the forward came alive. On his next touch after the turnover, he drained a three.
He netted nine points in the nine minutes before halftime on 3-for-3 shooting. The senior’s old-fashioned 3-point play gave the Cats a 33-30 lead and drew the loudest cheer of the afternoon from the 5,632 on hand.
Blake’s second half, however, resembled the performance that landed him on the pine in the first place. After the break he had two turnovers and didn’t attempt a shot or pull down a rebound in 11 minutes.
“(Blake) played a good first half,” Carmody said. “But he only played half the game.”
Technical Slow Down: Considering that the Cats were controlling the pace of play in the first half, their 40 points at the break were surprisingly high. Instead of surgeon-like passing within slow offensive sets, NU was flying up and down the floor under the direction of point guard T.J. Parker, who kicked the offense into high gear.
“It actually seemed like the faster pace was better for us tonight,” Carmody said.
But when Parker was whistled for his second foul in 20 seconds and then received a technical foul for complaining to the official, the freshman had to sit with 4:36 to play in the first half.
Parker was back on the bench for a three-minute period after collecting his fourth personal foul. Michigan went on a 10-2 run and grabbed a lead it would never give up before Carmody was able to put Parker back on the court.
