Huskies bounce back against Lakers 75-62
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grand Valley State (9-6,9-6 GLIAC) | 26 | 36 | 62 |
|
Michigan Tech (10-6,8-6 GLIAC) | 40 | 35 | 75 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Owen White posted his first career 30-point game and Michigan Tech men's basketball bounced back to defeat Grand Valley State 75-62 Saturday afternoon at SDC Gymnasium in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game. White helped the Huskies open the game with a 22-2 run and Tech shot 50-percent overall to split the season series with the Lakers on Senior Day.
White nearly marked a double-double with 30 points and nine rebounds and the junior shot 11-for-23 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line for MTU. Eric Carl also had a strong outing with 19 points and four assists and GLIAC leading distributor Carter Johnston tacked on five points and eight assists. The Huskies avenged Friday's loss to GVSU and improved to 10-6 on the year.
"What a difference a day can make," said head coach Kevin Luke. "We just made shots today and yesterday we didn't. I thought our defense was sound again and I cannot stress how difficult it is to battle the same team on back-to-back days in this league. It gets to be such a mental game because you really learn about the other team. I am extremely proud of how we started the game today. Grand Valley State is a good basketball team and we proved we know what we have to do to win."
After the Huskies held the Lakers to just two points through the opening 10:37, Tech staved off a late push to lead 40-26 at halftime. MTU outscored Grand Valley State 36-35 in the second half to secure victory by limiting turnovers to eight in the contest.
Michigan Tech shot 50-percent (26-for-52) from the field and 44-percent (11-for-25) from the 3-point arc. The Huskies also passed 19 assists and hauled in 31 rebounds. White tallied 50 points on the weekend after scoring 20 points Friday afternoon.
Jordan Harris led the Lakers with 23 points (9-for-19). Jake Van Tubbergen also scored 11 points and Isaac Gassman finished with nine. Grand Valley State shot 43.4-percent (23-for-53) overall, including 36.4-percent (8-for-22) from long-range. GVSU struggled from the free throw line with just eight baskets on 18 tries (26.4-percent).
The Huskies (10-6) are one game ahead of Wisconsin-Parkside (9-7) for first place in the GLIAC North Division standings. The two teams play one another in Kenosha twice next week. Grand Valley State (9-6) fell two games shy of Wayne State (11-4) for the top spot in the South Division. The Lakers close out the regular season against Northwood Friday and Saturday.
Senior Isaac Appleby was recognized after Saturday's game for his five years of contributions to the men's basketball program. Appleby has missed most of this season due to injury but was an integral element to the Huskies run to the GLIAC Championship in 2019-20.
