Northern Michigan defeats Michigan Tech 65-57
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Michigan | 26 | 39 | 65 |
|
Michigan Tech | 32 | 25 | 57 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech fell short on Senior Day 65-57 to Northern Michigan Saturday at SDC Gymnasium in the conclusion to the regular season. Dan Gherezgher scored 15 points in the loss for the Huskies.
"I thought we competed at the level we needed," said head coach Josh Buettner. "The second half, we made a few mistakes. We gave up some offensive rebounds. We got rejected on some ball screens. We were late on some hedges. We were fighting hard to stay in there and we just struggled to score a basket late in the game. We tried a lot of different things to generate offense and we just weren't able to down the stretch."
The Huskies shot 37.9 percent in the first half and led 32-26 at the break. Brad Simonsen made an early three and Gherezgher rolled in an athletic finger roll at the rim.
In the second half, Pete Calcaterra rattled in a three with 9:20 to play and the Huskies led 48-43. Dylan Kuehl floated a tough angle jumper to close the Wildcats back to one point but Nate Abel received a charge to keep Tech in front with 6:55 to play.
Max Weisbrod then blocked Adam Hobson's 3-point attempt and scored at the other end. On the 'Cats next possession, Sam Privet collected an offensive rebound and made a layup for a 51-49 NMU advantage with under five minutes remaining. Max Bjorklund cemented the momentum shift with an open three in the corner.
Eric Carl answered with a triple for Tech but Carson Smith made the Huskies pay for a turnover with a three for NMU. Weisbrod extended the margin to 61-51 with a layup high off the glass. Gherezgher quickly downed a layup as the teams approached the one-minute mark.
Hobson's block forced an NMU shot clock violation with 32.8 seconds left and Gherezgher needed just five seconds to lay up a left-handed shot at the rim, closing the gap to six. Max Bjorklund went to the free throw line with 14.1 seconds and converted both to seal the game.
Dylan Kuehl and Max Bjorklund led the Wildcats with 15 points apiece. Calcaterra and Hobson notched 14 and 10 points respectively.
The Huskies (8-19, 5-13 GLIAC) earned the No. 8 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will travel to No. 1 seed Wisconsin Parkside (21-7, 14-4) Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EST. The Rangers swept the season series between the two sides.
Michigan Tech honored seniors Eric Carl and Devin Schmitz in a ceremony prior to tipoff.
