Tech Men Look to Sweep Wildcats

THIS WEEK'S NOTES

STAT OF THE WEEK
48.7 • Percent of Tech's points this season that have come from freshmen. Kyle Monroe, Bryan Heath and Miles Sigh have combined for 829 of the team's 1,702 points.

MONROE OVER 20 PPG IN FEBRUARY
Kyle Monroe closed out the final month of his rookie campaign well, scoring 142 points in seven games for a 20.3 average. The freshman forward has eight 20-point games this season as well as two 30-point outings. He ranks sixth in the GLIAC in scoring. With 175 rebounds and 7.0 per game average, he's ninth in the league in rebounds. Monroe also ranks among the GLIAC's top 10 in field goal percentage (seventh, 50.8) and steals per game (eighth, 1.5).

SEASON FINALE
Michigan Tech will end its season Thursday (Feb. 25) vs. Northern Michigan, snapping a five-year stretch of making the postseason. Coach Kevin Luke teams had advanced to the GLIAC Tournament 17 of the previous 18 years coming into 2015-16. The Huskies were also NCAA Tournament participants each of the last three seasons, earning a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2013-14.

COACH LUKE 10 SHY OF 400
Head coach Kevin Luke won his 390th career game on Saturday (Feb. 20) with a 91-87 score vs. Lake Superior State. The Huskies skipper has a 390-242 record (.617 winning percentage) in 22 seasons on the Tech bench. Luke has led Tech to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and six GLIAC Titles. He is a four-time GLIAC Coach of the Year and was the 2002-03 NABC National Coach of the Year. The Huskies have had seven 20-win seasons under Luke.

HEATH STILL LEADING NATION IN FREE THROW ACCURACY
Freshman Bryan Heath has made 93-of-100 free throws this season for a 93.0 percentage—tops in NCAA Division II. Among all Divisions, he ranks third, trailing only two Division III players.

FAREWELL, SENIORS
Three Michigan Tech seniors will play their final career game Thursday (Feb. 25) vs. Northern Michgian. Luke Heller, Connor McLeod and Kyle Stankowski have a combined 250 games played with 1,252 points and 743 rebounds. The group has helped the Huskies compile a 74-41 record over the last four years with three NCAA Tournament appearance.

GORDON FINDS SCORING TOUCH
Point guard Dillon Gordon scored in double figures in both games last week including 16 points vs. Lake Superior State on 6-of-8 shooting including 4-of-6 accuracy from behind the arc. Gordon has scored 10 points or more just eight times this season, but has done it four times in the last five games. Over that span, he's averaging 11.2 points per game and shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.

HUSKIES BITES
Six of the Huskies' 15 losses this season have come by six points or fewer … Tech is 3-13 when being out-rebounded and 7-2 with more or equal rebounds that its opponent … The Huskies are 6-6 at home this year, looking to finish with a winning record at the SDC Gym with a win vs. Northern Michigan … First halves have been important to Tech. Eight of its 10 wins have come after leading at the half with only two wins in 13 games where it trailed at the break.

TECH VS. NMU HISTORY
The road team has won four consecutive games in the series between Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. The Huskies earned a 69-56 decision in Marquette earlier this month after making 33-of-41 free throws in the victory. Tech led by as many as 21 in the game before the Wildcats trimmed their deficit to just six. In the all-time series which dates back to 1920, NMU holds a 121-76 advantage.