Lakers Top Huskies 66-57 in Men's Hoops
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lake Superior State (17-3, 12-2 GLIAC) | 25 | 41 | 66 |
|
Michigan Tech (13-5, 10-4 GLIAC) | 26 | 31 | 57 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech battled to within a point twice in the second half but could never get over the hump in a 66-57 GLIAC men's basketball loss to Lake Superior State today at the SDC Gym. The Lakers improved to 17-3 overall and 12-2 in league play while the Huskies fell to 13-5 (10-4 GLIAC).
Ben Stelzer's jumper with six minutes remaining made it a 46-45 score, but Akaemji Williams knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession to start a 9-2 LSSU run. Jordan Chartier made a triple with 3:23 left to pull the Black and Gold back within 55-50, but that's as close as they'd get.
Tech turned the ball over 19 times in the game including six times in the final 10 minutes to negate advantages in rebounding (35-24) and shooting percentage (46.0-45.8).
"I wish we would have executed our offense better in a game of this magnitude," said Tech coach Kevin Luke. "Their pressure got to us, and we kept giving them the ball.
"I liked our defense and rebounding, but we have to learn how to take care of the basketball and execute our offense."
Stelzer finished as Tech's leading scorer with 12 points while Chartier was next with nine. The two combined for an uncharacteristic 1-of-13 from 3-point range. Seven other Huskies played and scored. Troy Hecht pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Michigan Tech started the game with a dunk from Kyle Stankowski and led 15-8 lead nine minutes into the game. The Lakers hung around and scored the final four points of the half to make it a one-point deficit (26-25) at the break.
LSSU opened the second half on a 15-5 run, but Hecht hit a 3-pointer to pull the Huskies back within 42-41 at the 10:47 mark. Jason Hawke and Dillon Gordon both misfired on 3-pointers that would have given the hosts the lead.
The margin was as many as five again before Stelzer's shot brought the host back within a point at the six-minute mark. Again the Lakers had the answer.
Lake Superior State had four players in double figures led by Devin Daly's 17 off the bench.
Neither squad shot well from 3-point range. Tech was 6-of-24 (25 percent) while LSSU was 6-of-18 (33 percent).
Michigan Tech will try to shake off today's setback with a Monday (Feb. 2) night contest vs. rival Northern Michigan. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
