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Longhorns outgun Michigan in showdown

MILWAUKEE -- It started with a bang. It ended with a whimper.

It started with four Michigan dunks. It ended with the Wolverines dazedly searching for shelter somewhere in the glaring lights of the Bradley Center. They could only watch as Texas' Brandy Perryman knocked down two free throws to ice the Longhorns' 80-76 win -- sending the Wolverines home in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year.

Between the opening bang and the closing whimper, the Wolverines (20-12) played hard, if not smart, against a much quicker Texas squad (21-9). That was probably most true of Maceo Baston.

The sophomore center was magnificent: 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 15 rebounds despite picking up his fourth foul with 12:49 left on the clock.

"He had an outstanding game," senior captain Dugan Fife said. "He got in a little foul trouble early, but when he was in there, he dominated.

"He was a man among boys out there. He got his hands on every rebound. He has nothing to be ashamed of."

You couldn't tell that from looking at Baston after the game. After calling an unavailable timeout with 3.2 seconds left and the Wolverines down two -- drawing a technical foul and painfully evoking memories of Chris Webber in the NCAA final three years back -- Baston could do nothing but forlornly hold his head in his hands.

"We called timeout the past two times down," he said. "I thought I heard someone calling for it. I just called it -- it was my fault."

Regardless, the Wolverines probably wouldn't have won. That much was assured late in the first half and early in the second, when the quicker Texas guards victimized Michigan sophomore Travis Conlan.

"I had quite a few costly turnovers that hurt the team," Conlan said. "I'm the point guard and I have the ball -- I feel bad because I let the team down."

Conlan had five turnovers, including a crucial one with the Wolverines down 62-60. Texas' Reggie Freeman swiped the ball from Conlan and collided with him on the ensuing layup. The referee judged the crash to be a blocking foul on Conlan, the shot dropped, and Freeman's free throw put the Longhorns up five.

That play was a microcosm of the game for Conlan.

He played with passion, but the choices he made were often poor.