Huskies complete comeback at Lake Superior State

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Trailing by 14 points in the second half, Michigan Tech men's basketball completed their comeback, winning 65-56 over Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon at Ronald Cooper Gymnasium. With a Ferris State loss, the Huskies tied the Bulldogs in the standings to claim a share of the GLIAC regular season championship. 

The Huskies will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and will host No. 7 seed Wisconsin Parkside on Wednesday at SDC Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.

Lake Superior State (16-10, 11-9 GLIAC) nabbed the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will face No. 3 seed Northern Michigan.

After Kyle Clow got in position to receive two Laker offensive fouls, Eric Carl helped spark the Huskies in the second half and finished with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Adam Hobson was effective with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds. Tech failed to score for more than five minutes to start the game. Trent Bell broke the drought and helped the Huskies pull back within one, 19-18. Malek Adams and the Lakers cushioned their lead before halftime 28-23. LSSU extended the advantage to 14 after the break but the MTU quickly closed to within seven with nine minutes to play.

A stop on defense and back-to-back triples by Hobson and Carl gave the Huskies their first lead of the game 57-54. With a five-point separation into the final two minutes, Tech made enough free throws to close out the regular season with a road victory.

"That was a gutsy comeback in one of the toughest places in the conference to play," said head coach Josh Buettner. "Eric stepped up with some huge shots late. I'm really proud of our team and excited to see what we can do in the post-season."

The Huskies shot 50-percent overall, including 39-percent (9-23) from long range. Lake Superior State took in 27 rebounds compared to 25 for MTU. Adams finished with a game high 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting for LSSU.

Michigan Tech has won 10 of its last 11 games heading into the playoffs.

Last season, Michigan Tech finished as GLIAC Tournament runner-up. Head coach Josh Buettner guided the Huskies to a share of the GLIAC regular season Championship in his first year at the helm. Tech notched 20 wins in a season for the ninth time in program history.