Wolverines Drop European Trip Opener to Gent

Aug. 22, 2010

• Audio Quotes: Head Coach John Beilein | Junior Guard Stu Douglass
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Site: Gent, Belgium
Score: Gent 69, Michigan 63 (ex.)
European Tour Record: Michigan (0-1)
Next Event: Monday, Aug. 23 -- at Charleroi (Charleroi, Belgium), 7 p.m. CET (1 p.m. EDT)

GENT, Belgium -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team opened up its 2010 European Tour with a 69-63 loss to Gent, a Belgian professional team.

Junior guard Zack Novak (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) paced the Wolverines with a team-high 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Freshman Tim Hardaway, Jr. (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while redshirt freshman Blake McLimans (Hamburg, N.Y./Worcester Academy [Mass.]) had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Despite leading by eight in the final period, the Wolverines could not withstand a late comeback from Gent and dropped the game late.

To open the game, Michigan got on the board quickly as an easy inside pass from McLimans to Novak tallied the first points of the Euro trip, before Gent clamped down on defense.

The Maize and Blue subbed early and often in an effort to find a solid rotation in the first quarter, getting baskets from several players in the opening frame. Highlighting the first quarter were a pair of triples from Hardaway Jr. and a 17-foot jumper from freshman Evan Smotrycz (Reading, Mass./New Hampton Prep [N.H.]), who closed the game with eight points and four rebounds. Even with the multiple lineups, the Wolverines finished the first quarter leading, 21-13.

Gent fired back in the second quarter and capitalized on inside scoring and Wolverine misses to go on an 11-2 run and seize a 24-23 lead with 5:30 remaining in the half. Michigan managed to regain the lead, 27-26, after a pair of Hardaway, Jr. free throws, but foul trouble and late turnovers allowed Gent to close the half with a 35-31 advantage.

Coming out in the second half, a Novak three sparked a 7-0 run, as the Wolverines grabbed a 45-42 advantage with 3:30 remaining. The quarter ended with a deep three-pointer from Hardaway, which was later called a two-pointer, resulting in a 49-43 U-M lead.

In the final quarter, Gent quickly opened with a three-pointer that was matched by Novak, who once again ignited the Wolverines early in the quarter, pushing their lead to 61-53. However, a 16-2 Gent run, which included a disallowed Novak three with 1:15 remaining, ended the hopes of a comeback for U-M.

The Wolverines will look to avenge this loss as they square off against Charleroi on Monday (Aug. 23) at 7 p.m. CET (1 p.m. EST) in Charleroi, Belgium.

Scoring Summary

Scoring   1st  2nd  3rd  4th  TotalMichigan   21  10   18   14   63Gent       13  22    8   26   69 Player             FG-A  3FG-A  FT-A  PT   REB  AST  STL  BLK  TO  FOULSBlake McLimans, f  3-9   1-2    3-4   10   3    2    1    0    1   2Zack Novak, f      7-12  3-7    0-0   17   6    2    2    2    1   4Stu Douglass, g    1-9   1-5    0-2    3   4    4    2    0    1   0Darius Morris, f   2-12  0-4    0-1    4   4    3    1    0    0   4Matt Vogrich, g    2-6   0-2    2-2    6   5    0    0    0    2   2Tim Hardaway Jr.   5-7   1-3    2-2   13   1    0    0    0    0   1Evan Smotrycz      2-6   0-3    4-4    8   4    0    0    0    4   1Eso Akunne         1-2   0-1    0-0    2   1    0    1    0    2   2Jordan Morgan      0-1   0-0    0-0    0   4    0    0    0    1   3Jon Horford        0-2   0-0    0-0    0   2    0    0    1    0   3Josh Bartelstein   0-0   0-0    0-0    0   0    0    0    0    3Corey Person       DNPColton Christian   DNPMICHIGAN           23-66 6-27   11-15 63   34   11   7    3    12  25                   34.8% 22.2%  73.3% NOTE: For further game photos and videos go to Michigan Basketball on Facebook