Mike Boynton Jr.’s first game as Michigan basketball’s head coach was spoiled thousands of miles away in Europe.
The Wolverines kicked off their foreign tour with a 96-84 exhibition loss against the Lithuania national team on Aug. 23 at Arena Vilnius in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Freshman Quinn Costello (17 points), sophomore Trey McKenney (15 points) and freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. (14 points) all scored in double figures to lead Michigan, which shot 44% from the field and finished 12-for-30 from 3-point range.
“It was good to play against another team after going hard against each other in practice,” McCoy said in a postgame statement provided by the program. “Obviously, it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but I saw some good things out of us. Everybody is still trying to figure things out. It was my first game out there with these guys, so we’ll look at what went wrong, learn from it and get better. We’ll be good.”
Playing four 10-minute quarters under FIBA rules, Michigan — which deployed a starting lineup that consisted of Elliot Cadeau, J.P. Estrella, Moustapha Thiam, McKenney and McCoy — led most of the first half, was up 12 at halftime and led by as much as 14 with 8:18 to play in the third quarter.
But it was tough sledding from that point on. After losing Thiam to injury early in the contest, Cadeau, Estrella and McKenney battled foul trouble in the second half before all three fouled out in the fourth quarter.
BOX SCORE: Lithuania 96, Michigan 84
With Michigan down four starters and having to rely on a lineup with four freshmen on the floor at times, Lithuania rallied, outscored the Wolverines 52-28 after halftime and took the lead for good with 2:15 left in the third quarter.
“We have great respect for Lithuania. We came here to play against great competition. We could have gone somewhere else, played against lesser competition, and won by 50, but the goal is to grow, especially this time of year, as this new group continues to come together,” Boynton said in a postgame statement provided by the program.
“Obviously, we would have preferred to win, but the experience our young guys gained was important. We probably couldn’t have created a better opportunity to give them a glimpse of what Big Ten basketball will look like — a physical game on the road in a hostile environment.”
There were several encouraging signs. Freshmen Joseph Hartman, Marcus Moller, Costello and McCoy combined for 45 points. And all four each made at least one 3-pointer, led by Costello’s team-high five deep balls.
Michigan’s defense was also active, forcing 20 turnovers and 13 steals, and the Wolverines won the rebounding battle by a 33-31 margin, though Lithuania shot 57% from the field and attempted 12 more free throws.
The bad news is Thiam’s early exit. The big man’s lower right leg got rolled up on by Cadeau under the basket at the 3:24 mark of the first quarter and he needed to be helped off the court. Thiam never checked back into the game and was replaced by Oscar Goodman in the lineup at the start of the second half.
In total, 10 Michigan players saw the court and nine of them scored. Jalen Reed (Achilles) and Lincoln Cosby (ACL), who are both working their way back from surgeries, as well as Ricky Liburd were the only scholarship players who didn’t suit up.
“You live and learn,” Boynton said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to grow from this and get after it again tomorrow.”
Michigan is scheduled to face the Lithuania B team, the country’s reserve national squad, on Aug. 24 at 11:30 a.m. ET before traveling to Croatia and wrapping up its three-exhibition slate against Serbia’s Mega Superbet on Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. ET.
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan basketball opens Europe trip with exhibition loss to Lithuania
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By James Hawkins, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
