Carl Carves Cardinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saginaw Valley State (2-8,2-8 GLIAC) | 28 | 29 | 57 |
|
Michigan Tech (7-3,5-3 GLIAC) | 33 | 43 | 76 |
- Eric Carl Interview
- Coach Luke Interview
- Photos
- Highlights
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Eric Carl posted a career high 24 points to help Michigan Tech over Saginaw Valley State 76-57 in GLIAC men's basketball Friday afternoon at SDC Gymnasium. The Huskies broke loose of their recent shooting woes and went 30-for-48 (62.5-percent) from the field to bounce back from a pair of defeats last weekend. Carl connected on 8 of 10 shot attempts with five three pointers on seven tries. The Huskies (7-3) scored in transition and passed the basketball fluidly on offense.
"It was a great win for us," commented head coach Kevin Luke. "I'm really happy for our guys because of how tough last week was for our group. They responded as well as any team could. It started with a good week of practice and in the game, it looked as if we never missed a beat. We executed our game plan and we did a tremendous job defensively all night long."
The Huskies opened the game with a 13-2 run, capped by 3-pointers in both corners by Carl and Dawson Bilski. SVSU struck back and narrowed the margin to five before Bilski and Carl again knocked down triples to keep Tech ahead at halftime 33-28. The team shot 54-percent with seven made three pointers through 20 minutes.
"Eric is an up and coming solid player in this league and we know that when we have three, four, five players in double-figures, we are a really difficult team to play against," Luke said.
The Cardinals hung around and kept scoreboard pressure on the Huskies to the mid-way point of the second half. After closing in on a single possession game again at 50-46, Owen White jump hooked a pair of mid-range baskets off the glass to help MTU pull away.
Michigan Tech shot 52-percent (13-for-25) from long range and Carl went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Bilski finished with 21 points, three assists, and three rebounds. He was an efficient 8-for-13 (5-for-8 from 3-point range). White, the Huskies leading scorer, added 19 points and eight rebounds and shot 8-for-13. Carter Johnston distributed five assists and Trent Bell quietly posted eight points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
Three players notched double-figure point totals in the losing effort for Saginaw Valley State. Darnell Hoskins Jr. led the Cardinals with 19 points (6-for-13). Myles Belyeu put up 14 points and four rebounds, and Delano Smith finished with 12 points. SVSU struggled offensively in the first half but gradually made-up ground and shot 21-for-53 (39.6-percent) overall. Fouls slowed the run and gun style of the first half and were more frequently issued to both sides in the second, though neither team faced significant foul trouble. Michigan Tech shot 3 of 4 from the free throw line and SVSU connected on 8 of 15 attempts (53.3-percent).
Michigan Tech thoroughly out-rebounded Saginaw Valley State 31-23. Bell and White pulled down the most with 11 and 8 rebounds respectively. Turnovers favored the Cardinals 17-12.
Michigan Tech (7-3) again plays Saginaw Valley State (2-8) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at SDC Gymnasium before traveling to Davenport next week. The Huskies limited an opponent to 60 points or less for the sixth time this season.
