PREVIEW: Hot Huskies conclude road swing

HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Huskies conclude a five-game road trip this week when they travel to Davenport on Thursday, February 10 at 8 p.m., followed by Grand Valley State Saturday, February 12 at 3 p.m. Michigan Tech men's basketball is riding a five-game win streak and ranks second in the GLIAC North Division behind Ferris State with six regular-season games remaining. Both games can be heard on Mix 93.5 WKMJ.

LAST TIME OUT

• Strong defense and above-average shooting led Michigan Tech men's basketball to a 90-75 victory over Wisconsin Parkside Saturday night at De Simone Arena. Adam Hobson led the offense with 20 points, including a furry of three-pointers in the second half to help the Huskies create scoreboard separation. Veterans Owen White and Trent Bell posted 19 points apiece and Bell added a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. 
• Tech finished 56-percent (32-for-57) overall and 45.8-percent (11-for-24) from downtown.
• Parkside edged Michigan Tech 31-30 in rebounds but the Huskies committed just five turnovers and recorded 26 assists. Carter Johnston guarded Croft and passed a team-best nine assists over 33 minutes on the floor. Kyle Clow was effective off the bench with eight points and 10 rebounds.
• White was efficient, shooting 7-for-10 and scoring 11 of his 19 points in the second half.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Not only did Davenport snap a four-game losing streak on Monday night, but did so against the No. 15-ranked team in the nation, Ferris State. The Panthers held on for the two-point victory, 75-73, snapped the Bulldogs' nine-game winning streak and handed them their first GLIAC loss of the season.
• Chris Rollins led all scorers with 21 points to go with four assists, three steals, and a rebound in 35 minutes on the court. Also scoring in double-figures for Davenport were Luke Maranka (15), Marcedus Leech Jr. (13), and Jarrin Randall (10). Chaz Birchfield paced the Panthers in rebounds with seven, Leech Jr. racked up five assists (to just one turnover) and three different players notched a block while both Maranka and Rollins tallied three steals apiece.
• Davenport averages 76.7 points and 76.6 points to opponents with 34.0 rebounds and 14.4 turnovers per outing.
• Rollins (Detroit, Michigan) leads the team at 14.4 points at guard. Randall (Chicago, Illinois) is reliable off the bench or starting at 14.1 points. Jakub Dombek (Prague, Czech Republic) nabs 6.9 rebounds at forward and is listed at 6-feet-11-inches.
• Last season, the Panthers failed to qualify for the GLIAC Tournament after finishing 5-11 overall. The Huskies won both meetings in Grand Rapids in 2020-21.
• In the first matchup this winter, Michigan Tech won 73-61 at SDC Gymnasium. Eric Carl led the Huskies at the 3-point line and Trent Bell notched a double-double. Each totaled 18 points.
• Head Coach Burt Paddock is in his 14th season beside the bench. Prior to last season, he led the Panthers to consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearances.

GLIAC RANKS 

• Points - 73.0 (9th)
• Points Against - 64.3 (1st) [21st NCAA Division II]
• Rebounds - 34.3 (7th)
• Assists - 16.9 (3rd)
• Steals - 7.0 (T-3rd)
• Blocks - 3.2 (5th)
• Field Goal Percentage - 47.4 (4th)
• 3-Point Percentage - 37.7 (3rd)

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• Grand Valley State missed a 3-pointer at the final buzzer Saturday afternoon in an 83-80 loss to Ferris State at Jim Wink Arena. The Lakers trailed by 13 points with just over four minutes to play, but cut the deficit quickly to have a chance to tie the game late.
• Jake VanTubbergen was one of five GVSU players to reach double figures with 14 points, eight rebounds. Christian Negron contributed a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds. Deleon Brown pitched in 19 points. 
• The Lakers host Northern Michigan on Thursday night prior to facing the Huskies. Ric Wesley is in his 18th season as Head Coach and holds the second-most victories in program history and top winning percentage of any Laker coach.
• Grand Valley State made timely shots to take the first game of the season series against the Huskies 80-74 in Houghton on January 20. The Lakers hit 10 of 16 shots from beyond the arc and the score was tied at halftime. White scored 21 points for Tech while Carl and Carter Johnston each posted 15.
• GVSU finished 12-7 overall last season and split the regular-season series with the Huskies. Michigan Tech ended the Lakers GLIAC Tournament run for the second year in a row in the semifinals 65-59 in Hammond, Indiana. Grand Valley last qualified for the NCAA Region Tournament in 2018-19.
• The Lakers average 77.7 points and allow 70.2 points to their opponents with 38.1 rebounds and 11.5 turnovers per game. Senior forward Jake Van Tubbergen (Holland, Michigan) leads the team in points (16.9 ppg) and leads the GLIAC in rebounds (10.2 rpg). 

BELL APPROACHES 1,000

• Senior forward Trent Bell (Negaunee, Michigan) has 951 career points and 676 career rebounds since his start in 2017-18. Last season, Bell started all 23 games and led the team with 7.7 rebounds per game with five double-doubles.
• This year Bell continues to improve. He is currently second in the conference in rebounding (8.4 rpg) with a team-high seven double-doubles. Saturday night, Bell totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Wisconsin-Parkside. He scored a season-high 21 points at Saginaw Valley State on January 15.

JOHNSTON CHALLENGES ON DEFENSE

• The job of guarding the opposing team's top scorer often falls to junior guard Carter Johnston (Beaverton, Michigan). Johnston helped MTU Saturday night to an outstanding assist to turnover ratio of 26 to five.
• Johnston was matched up with GLIAC leading scorer Tray Croft and passed a team-best nine assists over 33 minutes on the floor. Offensively, Johnston is slightly ahead of his sophomore totals. In 20 starts, he averages 4.3 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 steals. He scored a season-high 15 points last time against Grand Valley State on January 20.

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

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.

NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Owen White - Michigan Tech

• Senior guard/forward Owen White (Rhinelander, Wis.) helped the Huskies to three road wins last week en route to his fourth career GLIAC North Division Player of the Week honor. White totaled 51 points and shot 57-percent from the field with 15 rebounds, 13 assists, five blocks, and four steals.
• Last Monday, White posted 13 points, five assists, and four rebounds in a 64-62 win over rival Northern Michigan.
• Thursday night, White notched a double-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds at Purdue Northwest. Saturday, the Huskies broke up Wisconsin Parkside's three-game winning streak. White marked 19 points, five assists, and two rebounds in the effort. White currently ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (17.1 ppg), 12th in assists (2.9 apg), and 19th in rebounds (5.5 rpg).
• He was selected as NABC All-American and First Team All-Midwest District last season. White is also the defending GLIAC Player of the Year.

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tyler Witz - Saginaw Valley State

• Senior forward Tyler Witz (Clearwater, Fla.) led the Cardinals to a pair of wins last week, averaging 21 points per game.
• In a home win over Wayne State University on Thursday, Witz was 8-of-11 from the field for 22 points, adding nine rebounds. He then scored 20 points in just 18 minutes of action at Northwood University on Saturday. Witz is averaging 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season.

HONORABLE MENTION 

• NORTH: Malek Adams (LSSU), Dorian Aluyi (FSU), Tray Croft (Parkside), Caleb Zurliene (PNW)
• SOUTH: Darian Owens-White (WSU), Jairus Stevens (DU), De'Airrus Ware (NU)