Preview: Men’s basketball enters critical stretch

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech men's basketball plays Grand Valley State in the final regular season home series of the year Friday, February 19 at 12 p.m. and Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. Both games are available for streaming via MTU's Stretch Internet Portal. Fans can also listen live on Mix 93.5 or at pasty.net. Senior Isaac Appleby will be recognized in a special ceremony following the conclusion of the Saturday's game.

The Huskies (9-5) enter the weekend in first place in the GLIAC North Division but hold a very narrow margin over Wisconsin-Parkside (8-6) with four games to play. All six teams in the Division are separated by just three wins. Meanwhile, Grand Valley State (8-5) enters on a three-game win streak, eyeing first place in the South. MTU and GVSU split the season series last season but the Huskies bested the Lakers 69-53 in the conference tournament semifinals, which subsequently caused the Lakers to miss out on a selection to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

WHITE LEADS THE CHARGE: Junior Owen White has scored 20-plus points in each of his last three outings. White shot 9-for-14 Tuesday against Northern Michigan for 22 points and successfully held NMU combo guard Dolapo Olayinka to just eight points. White leads the GLIAC with 20.9 points per game and ranks tied for 24^th in NCAA Division II in the category.

JOHNSTON MAKING IT HAPPEN: Junior guard Carter Johnston is a major reason for the Huskies successes as of late. The junior racked up 29 assists in three games last week, including 10 Tuesday against Northern Michigan, then another 10 Saturday at Davenport. His 81 assists this season ranks No. 1 in the GLIAC, 15 more than Christ Rollins (Davenport) in second place. Johnston also ranks No. 13 in NCAA Division II in the category.

LAST TIME OUT: White had 22 points and Johnston distributed 10 assists to fuel Michigan Tech to a 73-51 win over Northern Michigan at SDC Gymnasium Tuesday night, marking a sweep in the season series. White impressed on both ends of the floor and the Huskies led by a season high 29 points at halftime and held on in the second half.

"Priority number one was to bounce back and play Michigan Tech basketball the way we know how," Luke reflected. "We did that in nice fashion today. I felt we were in good defensive position. We rebounded well in the first half. We shared the basketball, penetrated, and kicked it to the outside. That's what we needed to do to be successful."

Johnston dished eight assists in the first half to help Michigan Tech to a 40-29 advantage at the break with zero turnovers. On offense, White shot 9-for-14, including 4-for-7 from long range. The Huskies finished 28-for-58 (48.3-percent) from the floor and downed 15 of 35 (42.9-percent) of their 3-point attempts. Eric Carl made 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and posted 13 points, while Trent Bell nearly made it to double-double territory with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one steal.

GLIAC FINALIZES BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FORMAT: The 2021 GLIAC Basketball Tournament will allow all 12 institutions for both the men's and women's tournament to participate. The opening round will take place at campus sites, with the advancing teams traveling to Purdue Northwest, who will host the remainder of the Tournament at both their Hammond and Westville campuses. A complete breakdown of the playoff format can be found HERE.

YOUNG PLAYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MINUTES: Freshman Brad Simonsen posted eight 3-point makes over the last week, along with 24 points. His best outing of the season came against Davenport on Saturday. Simonsen scored 12 points and shot 4-for-7 in 19 minutes of playing time.

Freshman Adam Hobson assembled eight points Tuesday night, including a pair of 3-pointers. Hobson has been a steady option for Coach Luke off the bench. He has two 10-point performances and averages 15.3 minutes per game. 

Freshman Pete Calcaterra scored his first two points as a Husky Tuesday night against the Wildcats. Calcaterra played four minutes in the second half.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS: Grand Valley State swept Northern Michigan at home last weekend, then downed Davenport 85-60 Tuesday night. Eleven different Lakers scored in the game, including four scoring in double figures in the win. Jake Van Tubbergen scored 16 points with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Deleon Brown matched him with 16 points and five boards and a pair of steals. Christian Negron went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field for 14 points with five boards and a block plus Isaac Gassman added 13 points and four rebounds.

Five players average more than 10 points per game. Van Tubbergen leads the team with 13.3 PPG and 8.2 rebounds. Negron is right behind at 13.2 points and 9.0 rebounds. Jordan Harris has 46 assists. The Lakers have outscored their opponents by an average of five points. GVSU scores 68.2 points and has allowed opponents 63.5 points against.

Ric Wesley is in his 17^th season as head coach. Wesley entered the year with 327 wins, second most in program history. Grand Valley State finished 23-7 overall last season, 15-5 in the GLIAC. The Lakers were picked to take first in the South Division in the GLIAC pre-season coaches' poll. Van Tubbergen was selected pre-season player of the year after garnering NABC All-American accolades last year.