Huskies defeat Golden Eagles 76-72
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minnesota Crookston | 30 | 42 | 72 |
|
Michigan Tech | 31 | 45 | 76 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Pete Calcaterra posted a career high 16 points off the bench and Adam Hobson led the offense with 19 points in a 76-72 Michigan Tech win over Minnesota Crookston Friday night at SDC Gymnasium in non-conference men's basketball.
"My strength is just running the floor and giving us that spark off the bench," said the sophomore. "Getting those tough rebounds and hustle plays. I knew today we were going to need an inside presence, so I just did that as best I could."
Adam Hobson also tallied 19 points while Josh Terrian narrowly missed a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points for the Huskies. Tech improved to 2-1 while Minnesota Crookston dropped to 0-4.
The Huskies took a 31-30 lead into halftime, led by Hobson with eight points. Both teams struggled to score early, with MTU shooting 39-percent and 3-for-14 from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston shot 35-percent overall and 2-for-10 from downtown.
Xzavier Jones found success in the paint with 12 points for the Golden Eagles. Despite periods of drought at the rim, both teams took care of the basketball and Tech committed just a pair of turnovers.
Michigan Tech used a 9-0 run to the 3:33 mark of the second half to draw separation 69-57, but the Golden Eagles fought back with a 9-2 run into the final two minutes. Late free throws by Dan Gherezgher and Marcus Tomashek helped the Huskies maintain a 4-point lead in the closing seconds.
"I thought in the second half we played tougher and we competed very hard," Buettner said. "We still made some mistakes that let Crookston back into it, but that was more on the mental side that we will continue to learn from."
"We knew at halftime we had to pick it up," Calcaterra said. "We decided we were going to move the ball and limit them to one possession on defense."
Michigan Tech shot 43-percent (28-65) from the field and Calcaterra was an efficient 7-for-11, adding four rebounds and three steals to his strong performance. Minnesota Crookston out-rebounded Tech 41-38, including 13 offensive boards.
Four Golden Eagle players made it to double-figures, including 16 points by Matthew Allman, who also had seven rebounds. Turnovers favored the Huskies 8-5.
The Huskies are on the road until December 9, playing six games over a three week span, beginning with the UMSL Tournament November 22-23.
