PREVIEW: Huskies host Lakers and Panthers on Alumni Weekend

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State snapped a four-game win streak for Michigan Tech men's basketball Thursday night, but the Huskies have a chance to bounce back this week when they host a pair of South Division opponents Thursday night and Saturday afternoon on alumni weekend. Tech boasts the stingiest defense in the conference and All-American combo guard Owen White leads the squad with 16.6 points per game. The Huskies are in second place in the GLIAC North Division behind Ferris State with 12 regular season games to play. Both games will be streamed live via the Huskies Stretch Internet Portal with live statistics. Fans can also listen on Mix 93.5 FM with Mitch Lake on radio play-by-play.

LAST TIME OUT

• A second-half slide contributed to a 66-49 loss for Michigan Tech men's basketball Saturday afternoon against Saginaw Valley State in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Despite the loss, Trent Bell notched a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds but the Huskies were held to just 33-percent shooting and 19 second-half points.
• Darnell Hoskins Jr. posted 21 points with three steals for SVSU and Tyler Witz was effective in the post, particularly in the first half and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

WHITE WATCHERS

• Senior Owen White (Rhinelander, Wisconsin) ranks seventh in the conference with 16.6 points per game (Walt Kelser of Ferris State is No. 1 at 20.2 PPG). Averaging a shade over 30 minutes, White posted a season-high 25 points in a win over St. Cloud State on November 28. 
• Last season, White marked a career-high 33 point game against Ashland at home. Though his point totals are down from 21.2 last season, White continues to draw double teams. He is ahead of last year's pace in both assists (2.6 apg) and assist to turnover ratio (+1.6). 
• White was named the 2020-21 GLIAC Player of the Year as well as NABC All-American and First Team All-Midwest District.

BELL EXCELS

• Senior forward Trent Bell (Negaunee, Michigan) notched his third double-double of the year Thursday night. Last season, he led the squad with five. Bell has also been a force on defense. He collected 15 rebounds on the road last week and set a new program record for steals in a game Thursday night at Wayne State with seven.
• Bell ranks fifth in the GLIAC in rebounds per game (7.5) and sixth in steals (1.6).

GLIAC RANKS 

• Points - 71.9 (10th)
• Points Against - 65.5 (1st)
• Rebounds - 33.8 (9th)
• Assists - 16.4 (3rd)
• Steals - 7.4 (T-2nd)
• Blocks - 2.9 (7th)
• Field Goal Percentage - 47.1 (4th)
• 3-Point Percentage - 36.8 (5th)

NCAA DII RANKS

• Defense - 65.5 (T-33rd)
• Assist/Turnover Ratio - 1.39 (30th)

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• Picked to finish first in the GLIAC South Division in the preseason, Grand Valley State has so far lived up to expectations at 10-3, 4-2 GLIAC. The Lakers started their season with an exhibition against Division I Michigan State winning five straight non-conference bouts. Last week, the Panthers split at home with an 83-76 loss to Ferris State and an 82-59 win over Lake Superior State. GVSU drilled 12 threes in the latter and outscored LSSU by 20 in the second half to pull away. Three Lakers made it to double figures, including Jake Van Tubbergen (22 pts., 11 reb.), Jordan Harris (10 pts., 8 ast), and Isaac Gassman (12 pts., 9 reb.).
• Van Tubbergen (Senior, Holland, Michigan) was a First Team All-GLIAC selection in 2020-21. He currently leads the conference with 10.2 rebounds and ranks fifth in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Both are slight improvements to his statistics last spring.
• Senior forward Christian Negron (Elgin, Illinois) is also dangerous at 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. Negron leads the Lakers with 27 blocks and 52 assists and is a big paint presence, shooting 69-percent overall.
• Ric Wesley is in his 18th season as head coach and holds a .682 win percentage over that time. Grand Valley State finished 12-7, 11-6 GLIAC last year but the Huskies defeated the Lakers 65-59 in Hammond, Indiana in the GLIAC Semifinals on March 5.
• Trent Bell had a double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds while Owen White reached 1,000 career points.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Davenport travels to play Northern Michigan Thursday and Michigan Tech Saturday following three straight postponements due to COVID-19 after winter break. The Panthers last game was on December 19, a loss to Quincy 91-81 on the road. DU has played just six times in the last 60 days.
• Burt Paddock is in his 14th season as head coach. The Panthers finished 19-12, 11-9 GLIAC last season and made the conference tournament for the second straight year. Davenport picked up a win over No. 8 Ferris State on January 4, marking Davenport's second win over a ranked team in the Division II era.
• The Panthers swept two games against Michigan Tech last season in Grand Rapids. Davenport averages 77.0 points (6th), 73.6 points against (8th), 35.5 rebounds (8th), 6.8 steals (6th), and 3.3 blocks (5th).
• Redshirt senior guard Chris Rollins (Detroit, Michigan) leads the squad with 15.3 points per game shooting 48-percent and 44-percent from beyond the arc. Redshirt freshman guard Marcedus Leech Jr. (Caruthersville, Missouri) averages 5.3 rebounds.

IF YOU'RE GOING

• Michigan Tech athletics recommends masking for safety against the spread of Covid-19 inside the SDC Gymnasium.
• Michigan Tech men's and women's basketball alumni will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's men's basketball game.
• A special halftime performance of the Michigan Tech dance team will also take place at halftime of Saturday's games.

NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dorian Aluyi -  Ferris State

• Ferris State senior forward Dorian Aluyi (Chicago, Ill.) led the nationally-ranked Bulldogs to a pair of big GLIAC wins this past week, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 50% from the floor in the stretch. Aluyi began the week with 15 points, four boards, three assists and two steals in a dominating 104-73 home win on Monday over Wayne State. He then came back to score a team-high 23 points with five rebounds and four assists on Thursday night as the Bulldogs beat archrival Grand Valley State before a big crowd in Allendale by a 83-76 count to remain the league's only unbeaten team in conference play.
• Aluyi hit a pair of clutch three-point shots in the final four minutes of the game, helping FSU pull away from the Lakers. Overall, he totaled 38 points, nine boards, seven assists and three steals in the two games while connecting on eight-of-14 (57.1%) threes and four-of-five (80%) free throws.

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Darnell Hoskins Jr. - Saginaw Valley State

• For the second straight week, senior guard Darnell Hoskins Jr. (Dayton, Ohio) has been named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week after leading the Cardinals to a pair of home wins against Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech. Hoskins Jr. led the SVSU comeback against Northern Michigan, hitting a big 3-pointer late. He finished with 23 points, including three 3-pointers. Against MTU, Hoskins Jr. scored a team-high 21 points, connecting on four 3-pointers. This season, Hoskins Jr. is averaging 14.1 points per game for SVSU (11-5 overall, 5-3 GLIAC). 

HONORABLE MENTION 

NORTH: John Kerr (NMU), Brandon Hau (Parkside), Mikell Cooper (PNW), Trent Bell (MTU)

SOUTH: Brailen Neely (WSU), Jake Van Tubbergen (GVSU)

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 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 began 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 started GLIAC action at Northwood on December 4.
• The Huskies have a pair of four-game win streaks this season.