ANN ARBOR -- Michigan dominated an overmatched opponent on Friday night, beating Northwood 92-45 in a men’s basketball exhibition at Crisler Center.
The game won’t count towards either team’s regular-season record, but that didn’t make Michigan’s performance any less impressive. Four Wolverines scored in double digits and Northwood shot just 26 percent from the field.
Michigan was credited with 24 fast-break points, turning turnovers and missed shots into easy baskets all night. The starters sat for the final eight minutes.
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was not in attendance as he continues to recover from heart surgery on Sep. 15. Phil Martelli acted as interim head coach. There is no timetable for Howard’s return.
Graduate transfer forward Tray Jackson scored 20 points in 21 minutes on 8 of 10 shooting (3 of 4 from deep) to lead all scorers. Sophomore point guard Dug McDaniel scored 16, going 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Sophomore center Tarris Reed Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds in 11 minutes of action, all of which came in the first half. (A program spokesperson said Reed was a healthy scratch in the second half.)
Michigan started McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, Terrance Williams II, Olivier Nkamhoua, Reed. Jackson, George Washington III, and Will Tschetter were the first off the bench, entering together six minutes into the game.
Those eight Wolverines represented all of Michigan’s available scholarship players. Michigan was without Jace Howard, who will be out four to six weeks due to a stress fracture in his right knee and tibia, and Youssef Khayat, who is dealing with knee soreness. A program spokesperson said Khayat should be available for Tuesday’s regular-season opener, at home against UNC Asheville.
Northwood, a Division II program in Midland, Michigan, 115 miles north of Ann Arbor, was picked to finish last in its conference in a preseason coaches’ poll. Michigan handled the Timberwolves as expected.
Michigan shot 53 percent from the floor, including 12 of 27 from deep. Burnett made all three of his 3s and added six assists. Nkamhoua posted 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Both players are grad transfers. Tschetter had 13 rebounds to go along with seven points. Williams added seven points and five boards.
A pair of Michigan’s walk-ons, Jackson Selvala and Cooper Smith, entered with 7:36 left. Ian Burns checked in a couple of minutes later, and Harrison Hochberg shortly after, officially clearing Michigan’s bench of its healthy players. Hochberg scored on a nice coast-to-coast drive in the final minute to end Michigan’s five-minute scoring drought.
Northwood didn’t score for the game’s first 3.5 minutes. Michigan led 17-4, 24-6, and 34-13 after a Jackson fast-break layup off an assist by Burnett with 6:11 left in the first half.
Reed had a double-double with more than three minutes left in the first half, and Michigan led 54-24 at halftime.
Nkamhoua opened the second half with a pair of thunderous dunks, setting the tone that the last 20 minutes would be much like the first 20. Michigan started the half on an 11-0 run.
Just about the only negative of the night for Michigan didn’t last long. McDaniel hobbled off the court after driving for a layup with 15:27 left. He was in discomfort after a previous layup two minutes earlier -- an and-one in which he was pushed in the back and fell to the floor. He returned two minutes after the second incident and looked fine.
Williams fed Jackson for an alley-oop that Jackson converted through a foul; his free throw, followed by a Williams bucket, capped a 10-0 spurt that gave Michigan a 50-point edge. Michigan went up 82-27 with 11:49 left for its largest lead of the night.
It was a quick game, partly due to just six second-half fouls.