Boxscore

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Slippery Rock University men's basketball team may have lost a 100-62 exhibition-game decision Friday night against hosting Michigan, but The Rock didn't back down from the fifth-ranked team in NCAA Division I preseason polls.

The Rock hung with the Wolverines for the first 13 minutes of action before the hosts' superior talent and depth took over.

“We wish we could have made it a little tougher for them,” Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds said after the game, “but they showed tonight why they are the No. 5 team in the nation. They are very good.”

The Rock led the Wolverines by a 15-14 score after eight and a half minutes of action and were only down by six points, 29-23, four minutes later before Michigan went on a 15-7 run to take a 14-point, 44-30, lead into halftime.

The Wolverines then weathered a pair of SRU runs early in the second half before they exercised their muscle.

Michigan held a 24-point, 64-40, lead at the midway mark of the final half and, as the saying goes, it all over but the shouting at that point.

But, to their credit, The Rock played hard all the way to the final buzzer, even though the Wolverines never took their proverbial foot off the pedal.

All-region senior forward Devin Taylor led The Rock attack with 14 points and nine rebounds. Senior center Luiz Santos added 12 points and senior guard Darious Clark contributed 11 points. Junior forward Tabari Perry grabbed eight rebounds to complement Taylor's effort on the backboards and senior guard Aubin Reeves handed out seven assists to go with seven points.

Preseason All-American and Wooden Award nominee Tim Hardaway Jr. led Michigan with a 25-point, 10-rebound “double-double.” Trey Burke added 21 points and Glenn Robinson III chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Rock finished the game with a 36.8% (24-56) efficiency on its field goal attempts, made six of 21 (28.6%) of their 3-point attempts and sank eight of 14 (57%) free throws.

The Wolverines shot a red-hot 57.6% (38-66) from the field, buried 12 of 19 (63%) of their 3-point shots and had the same numbers from the foul line.

Michigan won the rebounding battle by a 42-31 margin and was on the low end of a 12-9 turnover comparison.

While the outcome does not count on SRU's season record, Friday's contest was the official season opener for the Wolverines.