Tech's Comeback Falls Short vs. NMU
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Michigan (8-13, 6-9 GLIAC) | 36 | 31 | 67 |
|
Michigan Tech (13-6, 10-5 GLIAC) | 26 | 36 | 62 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Despite a combined 54 points from Ben Stelzer and Luke Heller, Michigan Tech fell to rival Northern Michigan 67-62 tonight in GLIAC men's basketball. The Huskies trailed by 16 points with 11 minutes to play and pulled within two in the final minute, but the Wildcats made their free throws to earn the win.
NMU (8-13, 6-9 GLIAC) hit big shots all night, making 61 percent of their first-half field goals and maintaining that pace through the early portion of the second half.
Tech (13-6, 10-5 GLIAC) was down as many as 16 in the opening frame before cutting it to 36-26 at the break as Stelzer notched 11 points in the final 2:33 of the half.
Three consecutive 3-pointers for the Wildcats made it a 55-39 score with 11:04 to go. Heller then made back-to-back layups and Stelzer knocked down a pair of treys on a 10-0 run for a 55-49 score with 7:12 to play.
After two buckets for the visitors, Stelzer made two more triples to make it a 59-55 deficit with 4:05 to play. Both teams went on a drought offensively. Tech misfired on two point-blank layups, then couldn't get a defensive rebound. NMU was able to hold possession on the offensive end, killing 1:21 off the clock and eventually making a pair of free throws for a six-point margin.
Stelzer then converted a four-point play to pull Tech within 61-59 with :38 remaining.
Marcus Hall made both foul shots of a one-and-one to push the margin to four, then Chartier missed a 3-pointer and the Wildcats added two more free throws.
Stelzer hit his ninth 3-pointer of the contest with 16 seconds remaining to pull Tech within 65-62. Terry Nash iced the win for NMU at the stripe with two more free throws.
"I'm clearly disappointed with our intensity," said Tech coach Kevin Luke. "You'd think coming off a loss with your rivals in your building that you wouldn't need any motivation, but we got outplayed.
"Credit goes to Northern Michigan. They made big shots all night at tough times and made their free throws."
Stelzer's heroic effort netted him a career-high 37 points. He made 9-of-15 3-pointers and had 24 of his points after half. Heller added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting to match his career high. He also had a career-high-tying six assists without a turnover.
The rest of the Huskies combined for eight points.
Tech committed just four turnovers in the game, but Northern Michigan finished with a 32-21 rebounding advantage and a 35-0 margin in bench points.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and 9-of-19 from long range. Tech finished at 44 percent and 10-of-21 from behind the arc.
Michigan Tech will try to regroup against GLIAC North Division-leading Ferris State on Thursday (Feb. 5). Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
Notes: Stelzer's previous career high of 34 points came against Grand Valley State last year (Mar. 5, 2014) … Tech has seven regular season games remaining—one against each of its GLIAC North opponents.
