NEW YORK, NY (Ticker) -- Daniel Horton scored 14 points
and freshman Dion Harris added 13 as Michigan captured the National Invitation
Tournament championship
with
a
62-55 triumph
over
Rutgers.
It was the fifth straight victory at Madison Square Garden for Michigan (23-11),
which overcame a pro-Rutgers crowd and shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch
to claim its third NIT title. The 1997 championship was vacated, however, due
to violations involving former booster Ed Martin.
A layup by freshman Courtney Sims with 4:56 remaining snapped a 48-48 tie
and triggered a 9-0 run by the Wolverines. Bernard Robinson Jr., a senior who
was Michigan's only regularly contributing upperclassman, capped the burst
with a free throw, opening a 57-48 lead with 1:02 to play.
Robinson missed his second attempt to start a stretch in which the Wolverines
went just 3-of-9 from the line to give the Scarlet Knights numerous chances
to come back.
But Rutgers got no closer than 59-55 after a layup by Marquis Webb with 18
seconds left and, after Harris split a pair from the line, Webb missed a driving
layup and Horton sank two free throws to cap the scoring.
Herve Lamizana collected 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks for Rutgers
(20-13). But freshman Quincy Douby, a Brooklyn native who scored a career-high
35 points against Iowa State in Tuesday's semifinals, was limited to two on
1-of-13 shooting.
POSTGAME NOTES
LAMIZANA ENDS CAREER WITH CAREER NIGHT
Senior forward Herve Lamizana ended
his career at Rutgers with a tremendous all-around effort. Lamizana scored
19 points while pulling down 10 rebounds
and blocking eight shots, which tied his career high. With the eight blocked
shots, he tied Chuck Weiler (1990-94) for third place on the school's
career blocks list with 246. The Michigan game marks the fourth time he has
recorded eight blocks in his career and third time this season. He previously
achieved the feat against Seton Hall (2/25/03), Northwestern (12/27/03) and
Villanova in the quarterfinal game of the NIT on March 24.
LAMIZANA POSTS NINTH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
With 19 points and 10 rebounds, Herve
Lamizana recorded his ninth career double-double and his seventh of the season
tonight.
Lamizana's career double-doubles???..
Date Opponent Points Rebounds
12/30/02 Prairie View A&M 22 11
1/29/03 Syracuse 11 14
12/20/03 Long Island 11 12
12/27/03 Northwestern 21 15
1/31/04 Notre Dame 21 10
2/4/04 Miami 22 12
2/15/04 Virginia Tech 20 10
2/17/04 Northern Colorado 15 12
4/1/04 Michigan 19 10
LARGEST CROWD TO ATTEND NIT GAME IN 10 YEARS
Tonight's attendance of
16, 064 was the largest crowd to attend an NIT Championship game in 10 years.
The 1994 Championship game which saw Vanderbilt
beat Kansas State, 82-76, was played in front of 14,434 at Madison Square Garden.
The 1994 admission was a doubleheader, as Villanova defeated Siena 66-58 in
the consolation game. This is the first year the NIT eliminated the third-place
game that precedes the Championship game.
LAMIZANA AND SHIELDS PART OF NIT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior Herve Lamizana
and junior Ricky Shields represented Rutgers on the NIT All-Tournament Team.
(Note: All-Tournament Team recognizes Semifinal and
Final games only). Shields averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds
in the final two games. Lamizana averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0
blocks in the Semifinal and Final game of the NIT.
Points Rebounds Assists Blocks
Shields 32 (16.0) 4 (2.0) 6 (3.0) 0 (0.0)
Lamizana 25 (12.5) 13 (6.5) 2 (1.0)
12 (6.0)
Totals 57 (28.5) 17 (8.5) 8 (4.0) 12 (6.0)
NON-CONFERENCE RECORD
Despite tonight's loss to Michigan, Rutgers finished
the season with a 13-3 non-conference record.
RUTGERS' FIRST APRIL APPEARANCE
Tonight's game against Michigan
in the NIT Championship marked the first time ever Rutgers has played a game
in the month of April. The previous latest
date a Rutgers season ended was on March 29, 1976 when the Scarlet Knights
lost to UCLA in the third place game of the NCAA Tournament.
RUTGERS' 33 GAMES TIE FOR SECOND MOST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Rutgers finished
the season with a 20-13 overall record, tying for the second-most games played
in a season by the Scarlet Knights. In the 1989-90 season, RU
played a school-record 35 games, finishing 18-17 on the season. In 1975-76,
Rutgers also played 33 games, finishing 31-2, making the school's lone
appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
Official Basketball Box Score
Rutgers vs MICHIGAN
04/01/04 7:00 at MSG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Rutgers 20-13
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 LAMIZANA, Herve..... f 9-18 0-2 1-2 2 8 10 4 19 1 3 8 1 38
32 AXANI, Sean......... f 3-5 0-0 0-1 5 4 9 4 6 0 1 0 1 22
02 SHIELDS, Ricky...... g 6-18 3-11 1-2 2 2 4 2 16 1 2 0 2 36
05 DOUBY, Quincy....... g 1-13 0-3 0-0 0 3 3 5 2 3 3 0 0 37
11 WEBB, Marquis....... g 1-5 0-3 2-2 0 7 7 4 4 2 1 0 0 30
04 HILL, Adrian........ 2-5 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 0 16
13 WIGGAN, Juel........ 2-3 0-0 0-2 3 0 3 2 4 0 2 0 1 17
21 JOYNES, Byron....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 3 1 4
Totals.............. 24-67 3-19 4-9 17 25 42 24 55 7 13 9 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 24-67 35.8% Game: 35.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 3-19 15.8% Game: 15.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 44.4% 1
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HOME TEAM: MICHIGAN 23-11
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 DION HARRIS......... f 4-8 2-5 3-4 2 2 4 3 13 5 3 0 0 33
21 BERNARD ROBINSON.... f 3-10 0-1 3-4 2 3 5 3 9 2 3 0 1 32
44 COURTNEY SIMMS...... c 3-9 0-0 3-5 2 5 7 1 9 0 2 2 0 26
02 LESTER ABRAM........ g 1-5 0-3 3-6 0 5 5 3 5 1 1 0 2 19
04 DANIEL HORTON....... g 4-10 2-6 4-8 0 5 5 2 14 3 3 1 3 36
23 BRENT PETWAY........ 1-6 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 1 2 0 1 1 0 7
25 GRAHAM BROWN........ 3-6 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 2 6 1 1 0 0 26
31 CHRIS HUNTER........ 2-5 0-1 0-0 4 3 7 2 4 1 1 2 0 21
TEAM................ 5 3 8
Totals.............. 21-59 4-16 16-27 20 30 50 17 62 13 15 6 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 21-59 35.6% Game: 35.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-16 25.0% Game: 25.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 16-27 59.3% Game: 59.3% 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: LARRY ROSE, DUKE EDSALL, BRYAN KERSEY
Technical fouls: Rutgers-None. MICHIGAN-None.
Attendance: 16064
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Rutgers....................... 25 30 - 55
MICHIGAN...................... 32 30 - 62
