PREVIEW: Lions cross the bridge to face Huskies

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HOUGHTON, Mich. - Taking a time out from GLIAC play Wednesday, Michigan Tech men's basketball hosts Finlandia University at 6 p.m. at SDC Gymnasium. The cross-bridge rivals last met in Houghton on December 11, 2019, and the Huskies won 119-72. Fans can listen to the game on Mix 93.5 FM with the play-by-play voice of the Huskies Mitch Lake. Tech sits second in the GLIAC North Division standings and is in the midst of an eight-game homestand.

LAST TIME OUT

• Struggling to cross 35-percent shooting all afternoon, Michigan Tech men's basketball fell to No. 20 Ferris State 71-48 at SDC Gymnasium  Saturday in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup. The Bulldogs dominated the glass with 40 rebounds and used a 38-21 first half advantage to halt the Huskies' four-game win streak. Vejas Grazulis led the Bulldogs with 15 points and five FSU players reached doubles figures. Ferris State shot 47.4-percent (27-for-57) overall and supplemented their scoring with help from the bench.
• Despite the loss, the Huskies had a few flashes of brilliance. Adam Hobson his recent uptick in scoring with 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Tyler Robarge also posted six points off the bench and Trent Bell grabbed eight rebounds. Owen White was effective at times with 14 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals.

SCOUTING THE LIONS

• The Lions lost 114-80 to Great Lakes Christian Saturday afternoon in their first home game of the season. Finlandia trailed 61-41 at halftime. BJ Williams led the team with 18 points. Leading scorer Rae'quan Funches pitched in 14 points and Noah Prestia had 10 points in the loss. 
• Last season, the Lions managed one win in 11 outings. Head coach Allen Doherty is in his second season and previously served as assistant coach of Finlandia's women's basketball program since 2018.
• BJ Williams transferred from Penn State Shenango, where he averaged 10 pts., four rebounds last season.

GLIAC SCORES SATURDAY/SUNDAY

• Ferris State -71 | Michigan Tech -48
• Wayne State -65 | Northwood -57
• Lake Superior State -74 | Northern Michigan -72
• Davenport -93 | Purdue Northwest -91
• Grand Valley State -80 | Wisconsin Parkside -69
• Saginaw Valley State -89 | Grace Christian (Mich.) -67

HOBSON HOT STREAK

• Hobson totaled 51 points in three games along with 11 rebounds. Monday night, Hobson shot 6-for-13 and went 6-for-10 from the 3-point line for 22 points in a win over Northern Michigan.
• Thursday, Hobson posted 13 points and shot 5-for-11 from the field. Saturday, Hobson led the team with 16 points, including 4 of 6 from long range against Ferris State.

TRACKING THE HUSKIES

• Defending GLIAC Player of the Year Owen White leads the Huskies with 18.2 points per game. He trails Walt Kelser (21.3 ppg) of Ferris State, Jack Ammerman (20.1 ppg) of Northwood, Tray Croft (19.7 ppg) of Parkside, and Delano Smith (19.2 ppg) of Saginaw Valley State in this year's scoring race.
• Trent Bell ranks fifth in the GLIAC with 7.7 rebounds per game. Jake Van Tubbergen (Grand Valley State) averages 11.3 rebounds to lead the conference.
• Eric Carl shot 41-percent from the three point line last season to lead the Huskies. Carl has matched his point totals from 2020-21 at 12.8 points per game, but has been less efficient, at 38.7-percent from downtown.
• Jalen Carter continues to be a go-to player for Coach Buettner on defense in the final minutes of close games. Carter averages 16.1 minutes and 4.2 points per game. He also has 10 steals, 16 rebounds, and 20 assists through nine games and has been reliable off the bench.

FRESHMEN IN THE FOLD

• The Huskies needed to fill the positions of graduated seniors Dawson Bilski (All-GLIAC Second Team) and Isaac Appleby (2019-20 GLIAC All-Defensive team). True freshmen Dawson Nordgaard (Forward – DePere, Wisconsin) and Nate Abel (Point Guard – Beaver Dam, Wisconsin) joined the squad this fall. Neither has appeared in a game this year.

COACH BUETTNER AT THE HELM

• For 27 seasons, Kevin Luke led the Huskies as head coach. Luke announced his retirement in April after amassing 471 career victories. He is the school's all-time winningest coach. Longtime assistant coach Josh Buettner was named head coach one day later after serving 13 seasons as assistant coach and one as associate head coach. Buettner (a former Husky all-American player) hired Ben Stelzer as an assistant coach. Stelzer is another former all-American for the Huskies (2011-15) and played basketball professionally in Spain before beginning his coaching career.

PRESEASON POLL

• Michigan Tech men's basketball was selected to finish first in the GLIAC North Division this season the league announced Tuesday in its preseason coaches poll. The Huskies begin the regular season as defending North Division Champions with four of five starters returning, including CoSIDA All-American combo guard Owen White.

North

1. Michigan Tech 56 (6)

2. Ferris State 55 (5)

3. Parkside 34

4. Lake Superior State 32

5. Northern Michigan 25

6. Purdue Northwest 23

South

1. Grand Valley State 49 (9)

2. Wayne State 42 (2)

3. Davenport 31

4. Saginaw Valley State 20

5. Northwood 18

HUSKIES AT A GLANCE

• With returning All-American combo guard Owen White and four starters back in the fold for 2021-22, Michigan Tech men's basketball hopes to again reach the NCAA Midwest Region tournament, where they fell 65-62 to Truman State in the Championship game last spring. The Huskies finished 15-8 overall, including 12-6 in the GLIAC North Division, and took second place in the conference tournament.

LAST YEAR RANKS

• Last year, the Huskies ranked ninth in the conference in scoring (67.9 points), second in defense (63.7 points against), second in 3-point percentage (37.4-percent), and 10th in rebounding (31.3 rebounds).
• Tech begins non-conference play with a pair of games in the Lewis Tournament November 12-13. After facing a trio of Northern Sun opponents (Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State), the team begins GLIAC action at Northwood on December 4.