BARCELONA, Spain -- Kids tossed firecrackers just outside the gym minutes before tipoff. Two national anthems were played, though neither belonged to the host country. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted down to the court in the second half.
This was an American college basketball team and a Serbian professional squad meeting for an exhibition basketball game in Spain Thursday night.
The "final" score at the end of the fourth "quarter" -- more on that later -- was KK Mega Bemax 81, Michigan 73. The Wolverines fell to 1-1 on their Spain tour after winning a game in Madrid on Monday.