Huskies Open North Division Play With Win Over Ferris State
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ferris State (6-7, 5-4 GLIAC) | 33 | 31 | 64 |
|
Michigan Tech (10-3, 6-3 GLIAC) | 42 | 32 | 74 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team held Ferris State without a field goal for the final five minutes of the game and got back on the winning track, defeating the Bulldogs 74-64 on Thursday (Jan. 16) night. The Huskies had four players in double figures and are now 10-3 overall and 6-3 in the GLIAC.
Austin Armga had his 10th 20-point game with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He also added four assists and three rebounds. Ben Stelzer finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Alex Culy added 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, along with five rebounds and two assists. Connor McLeod rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting to tie a career-high.
Tech held on to a one-point lead before Troy Hecht buried his second 3-pointer of the game with 4:59 on the clock.
The two teams went scoreless over the next two and half minutes before Jordan Chartier added to the lead with a three. Two possessions later, Ben Stelzer sidestepped a defender and scored a layup to give the Huskies a nine-point (71-62) lead with 1:21 remaining.
Ferris added two free throws while Armga made a free throw and Culy a layup to finish off the scoring for the 10-point win.
"It was a huge win for us tonight to begin North Division play," Tech coach Kevin Luke said. "I like the way our guys battled. Ferris played a nice game but we executed down the stretch and did what we had to do to pick up the win."
Tech led by nine at the break, 42-33. The Huskies jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the visitors battled back and took a three-point lead with 12:50 before halftime. Tech then went on a 31-13 run and led by as many as 15 in the opening frame.
The home team led by 10 (47-37) three minutes into the second half but the Bulldogs chipped away and got the lead down to three, (52-49) after a 12-5 run with 12:00 on the clock.
Tech didn't lead by more than six until the final two minutes of the game.
The Huskies shot 46.3 percent (25-for-54) from the field and 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from downtown.
Chartier finished with eight points and six rebounds while Hecht finished with six points and four boards. Jason Hawke was the other Husky in the scoring column with two.
"Troy and Connor were major sparks for us tonight," added Luke. "Both of Troy's threes were huge and Connor stepped in and made some shots. We just need to shore up a few things defensively and I'll feel real good about this team."
Ferris (6-7, 5-4 GLIAC) was led by Dietrich Lever with 19 points. Milton Cribbs (11), Drew Lehman (10) and Matt Poches (10) were also in double figures for the Bulldogs who shot 42.6 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from three. FSU held a 37-34 advantage on the boards, including 12 on the offensive end.
The Huskies wrap up the weekend on Saturday (Jan. 18) when they host Grand Valley State. Tipoff against the Lakers is 3 p.m. after the women's game. GVSU defeated Northern Michigan 64-41 on Thursday.