Slow start dooms Huskies
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lake Superior State (4-4,3-0 GLIAC) | 26 | 47 | 73 |
|
Michigan Tech (2-8,0-3 GLIAC) | 16 | 47 | 63 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech was unable to overcome a slow offensive start Friday night and fell 73-63 to Lake Superior State in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at SDC Gymnasium. The Huskies (2-8, 0-3 GLIAC) suffered their seventh straight defeat, despite scoring 47 points in the second half.
"In the first half, we didn't take care of the things that were a focus coming in and that's taking care of the basketball and rebounding," said head coach Josh Buettner. "If we are able to keep it simple and do those things right, we will give ourselves a chance. The offense takes time to create chemistry and we are still learning. We attacked the press a lot better in the second half and made good passes, and that lead to more success."
The Lakers held the Huskies to just 16 points in the first half and Tech shot just 25-percent from the field. Trailing by 10 points at the break, Brad Simonsen rattled in a pair of threes to help jump start the offense. Both Simonsen and Pete Calcaterra were efficient as each made 4 of 5 attempts and made it to double figures with 12 and 11 respectively.
"Both Brad and Pete gave us a huge spark," Buettner said. "Pete was all over the court diving around. Now he's starting to go to the basket and he makes things happen when he does. It's phenomenal. His ceiling is extremely high. Brad is a great shooter so it was good to see him take advantage. He posted up with his back to the basket as well so that was great to see."
Despite the greatly improved second half, the Lakers continued to score and maintained a variable 10-point edge. Calcaterra's triple cut the deficit back to nine with 37 seconds to play but Tech ran out of time with LSSU at the free throw line. Both teams posted 47 points over the final 20 minutes.
The Huskies received 34 points from their bench. Simonsen and Calcaterra spearheaded the production but Dan Gherezgher also added 11 on 4 of 10 shooting.
Kemon Bassett led the Lakers with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Caden Ebeling also chipped in 13 and David Wren finished with 12. LSSU out-rebounded the Huskies 33-21 and the Lakers connected on 26 of 50 total shots (52-percent).
Michigan Tech will be back inside SDC Gymnasium to host Ferris State on Sunday, December 11 at 3 p.m. Lake Superior State (4-4, 3-0) travel east to face Northern Michigan.
