DURHAM, N.C. - When Michigan needed him most, Travis Conlan was there. Don't call him a hero. By his own admission, he wasn't one.
But if Conlan had fouled out, instead of the Wolverines' leading scorer, Maurice Taylor, Michigan would probably have lost.
Instead Conlan led the seventh-ranked Wolverines to an overwhelmingly improbable 62-61 come-from-behind victory over No. 10 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Bermuda Triangle of college basketball.
When the Blue Devils' tenacious defense collapsed on Taylor, Robert Traylor and Maceo Baston, they left Conlan open. The junior had no qualms of letting fly from 3-point range, nailing all three triples he took.
He finished with 11 points and a team-high four assists: a solid effort, but huge numbers. His stats weren't impressive enough to win player-of-the-game honors - those undoubtedly went to Traylor, whose emphatic jam with 6.2 seconds left gave the Wolverines their first lead since a 20-19 edge midway through the first half.
The play was a momentous one, but it wasn't drawn up that way. Michigan coach Steve Fisher wanted to run the same play that gave Baston a wide open dunk one possession earlier.
But when Duke saw it coming, it was Conlan left holding the ball, with two Blue Devils draped over Baston, 10 seconds left and the Wolverines down by a point.
But Conlan, undeterred by the 9,314 Cameron Crazies yammering insults his way just 15 feet behind him, found Traylor alone near the foul line. One dribble later, the Wolverines had a one-point win.
"The play was supposed to go back to Baston," Traylor said. "But they saw it and doubled him. I was wide open and just screaming for Travis to get me the ball. I'd say he made a pretty good play."
That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, because Conlan was making them all day. Besides his 11 points and four assists, Conlan played better defense and made sharper passes than anyone else on the court.
While Duke rotated nine players, hoping to wear the Wolverines down, Conlan stayed on the court for 33 minutes. He shut down Duke's hottest shooter, Trajan Langdon, who managed just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting.
And it was Conlan who had the daunting task of guarding Langdon when Duke had a chance to win the game after Traylor's slam. Try as he might to foul Langdon - Michigan had three fouls to give - all Conlan could do was bother him enough to make him give up the ball.
Ricky Price's final heave at the buzzer looked more like a lateral than a jump shot. With Conlan leading the charge, the Wolverines had held Duke without a field goal for the final 10 1/2 minutes of the game. With Taylor on the bench, Michigan allowed only three Langdon free throws.
"We were forced to step up and play defense when Mo fouled out," Conlan said. "We didn't have any other choice. That's our best player picking up his fifth foul. We've got to hold them down now."
But Conlan did more than just play ferocious defense. He provided leadership to a team which had just lost its leading scorer and most vocal player for the final 10 minutes. Without Taylor on the floor, it was Conlan's job to grab the reins.
He made the first basket in Michigan's 16-3 run. He assisted on both of the last two.
"Travis Conlan was the glue and guts for this team today," Fisher said. "He played a ton of minutes and made some big-time baskets.
"Historically, he has been either fearful of shooting or shot as an afterthought. Today he stepped up and made some big plays for us."
None bigger than his 3-pointer to end the first half. After two Greg Newton baskets had stretched a three-point Duke lead to seven with 39 seconds before the intermission, Conlan took the ball the length of the court and sunk a pull-up three with just a second left on the clock.
The momentum that was Duke's was quickly erased. He had no trouble hitting his other two threes, either, both when Michigan was desperate for a basket.
Even Conlan himself admitted it was his best game as a Wolverine.
"I think it was my best performance," Conlan said. "It was definitely the biggest win I've ever been a part of."
Despite seven turnovers, Conlan was a thorn in Duke's side all afternoon. Even his counterpart could see it.
"He hurt us today," Duke point guard Steve Wojciechowski said. "We were packing it in down low and checking (Louis) Bullock, because we knew he could shoot. But Conlan hit those threes. He played solid defense, too."
Wojciechowski wasn't the only one to singing Conlan's praises.
"Travis did a great job," Traylor said. "He played hard to the end. It was a terrific game for him. He pretty much won it for us."