Huskies down Lakers for seventh straight win

ALLENDALE, Mich. - With four players in double-figures and Trent Bell's block on the final play of the game, Michigan Tech men's basketball sealed its seventh straight victory with a win over Grand Valley State at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena 75-67 Saturday afternoon. The Huskies closed their longest road trip of the season 5-0 and avenged a loss in Houghton to the Lakers on January 20.

"This is a group I am really proud of," said head coach Josh Buettner. "To finish off the trip a perfect 5-for-5 is a testament to their mental toughness. We battled hard and made enough plays down the stretch to hold off a really good GVSU team."

Michigan Tech improved to 17-5 overall (13-3 GLIAC) and trails just Ferris State in the GLIAC standings. Grand Valley State fell to 14-9, 8-8 GLIAC. 

The Huskies started the game with solid defense and hit three of their first four 3-point attempts to snag a 44-25 halftime lead. Eric Carl notched 14 first-half points and MTU shot 54-percent from the field. The Lakers battled back to a four-point deficit 66-62 but more timely shots stifled their comeback effort. 

Owen White marked his seventh 20-point performance and knocked down 8 of 16 shots from the field with a pair of threes. Carl finished with 14 points and went 5-for-10. Bell collected his ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 boards. Bell and White also batted a pair of blocks apiece.

Following a career-high 28 point night earlier in the week, Adam Hobson put up 18 points and 4 rebounds Saturday.

Jake Van Tubbergen paced the Laker offense. The senior averaged a double-double entering the afternoon and posted 27 points and 10 assists. Van Tubbergen helped keep the game close by making challenging jumpers down the stretch for GVSU. Christian Negron was efficient with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting. The Lakers connected 29 of 60 attempts (48.3-percent) and went 6-for-9 from long range.

Michigan Tech forced 10 turnovers, committed eight, and passed 20 assists. Including Thursday night's win over Davenport, the Huskies posted 47 assists compared to 19 turnovers on the week.

MTU returns home to host Saginaw Valley State on Thursday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. The team has four remaining regular-season matchups before the GLIAC Tournament. The Huskies made it to five road wins in a row for the second time in two seasons. The last time the team made it to six straight was in 2014-15.