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Wolverines' Struggles Continue In 62-51 Loss To SMU

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Yanick Moreira scored 19 points and Nic Moore added 17 as Southern Methodist beat slumping Michigan 62-51 on Saturday.

The Wolverines (6-5) have lost four straight, including three at home, and only have one more non-conference game before Big Ten play starts. Zak Irvin led Michigan with 17 points, while freshman Mark Donnal added 13.

The Mustangs (8-3) were bolstered by the return of Markus Kennedy, their star post player who sat out the first semester after being ruled academically ineligible. He finished with five points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.

SMU got off to a quick start, hitting eight of its first 11 field goals and grabbing the offensive rebound on two of the misses. That led to an 18-12 lead, but the Mustangs couldn't keep up the pace. They shot 20 percent (3-of-15) in the rest of the half, allowing Michigan to pull within 30-27.

Michigan went cold at the start of the second half, making just one of its first nine shots as SMU built a 10-point lead. Caris LeVert ended the drought with his first basket of the game, and when the Wolverines scored the next seven points, they were back within 39-38.

Derrick Walton Jr.'s 3-pointer gave the Wolverines their first lead since 2-0, but Michigan went cold again down the stretch, missing nine of 10 shots to allow SMU to pull away.

TIP INS

MUSTANGS: Saturday marked the first time that Larry Brown had coached at the Crisler Center in almost 30 years. On Jan. 27, 1985, his Kansas Jayhawks lost 96-77 to the Wolverines. Brown has had more success elsewhere in the state of Michigan, though. In 1988, the Jayhawks won two games at the Pontiac Silverdome on their way to the NCAA title, and in 2004, Brown won his only NBA title with the Detroit Pistons.

WOLVERINES: A student nearly won $10,000 at halftime. He had to make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot in 25 seconds, and appeared to do it, but a replay showed that his final shot came about a half-second too late. He was later awarded $1,000 after numerous protests on social media. ... Michigan hit just 8 of 36 3-point attempts (22.2 percent).

UP NEXT

SMU hosts Midwestern State on Dec. 29

Michigan is home against Coppin State on Monday.

 

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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