PREVIEW: Huskies compete in UMSL Tournament

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech plays four road games this week against Maryville Tuesday, Missouri-St. Louis Wednesday, Minnesota Duluth Saturday, and St. Cloud State Sunday. Tuesday's game against Maryville tips off at 2 p.m. and can be heard on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ. 

LAST TIME OUT

• 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.
• Josh Terrian narrowly missed a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points for the Huskies. 
• MTU led 31-30 at halftime and used a 9-0 run to the 3:33 mark of the second half to draw separation, but the Golden Eagles made it a four-point game in the end, necessitating crucial free throws from Dan Gherezgher and Marcus Tomashek in the final minute.
• Michigan Tech shot 43-percent from the field and Calcaterra was an efficient 7-for-11, adding four rebounds and three steals.

HOBSON LEADING THE OFFENSE

• Stoughton native Adam Hobson (Soph., guard) enters the week second in the GLIAC with 18.3 points per game.
• He trails only GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, Max Bjorklund (Northern Michigan) for the top spot.
• Hobson is shooting an efficient 50-percent from the field, including 46.7-percent from beyond the arc.
• Last season, Hobson started all 27 games for the Huskies and earned more than double his minutes from the previous year.
• He finished second on the squad with 12.3 points per game, behind only Owen White (graduated).
• Hobson also scored a season-high 28 points at Davenport and posted 17 games in double figures.
• Hobson appeared in 22 games and averaged 4.1 points in 2020-21 as a freshman, earning the Bob Olson Newcomer of the Year award.

TOP OF THE CHARTS

• The Huskies lead the GLIAC in two major categories, free throw percentage, and turnovers.
• Tech turned over the basketball just five times against Minnesota Crookston a feat accomplished once last season at Wisconsin Parkside.
• Last season, Tech averaged 11.9 turnovers per game. This year, that number is 9.3, 10th fewest in NCAA Division II.
• The Huskies are tied for ninth in Division II with a free throw percentage of 83.6-percent (41-for-49). Veterans Eric Carl and Hobson have yet to miss from the stripe.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS

• Maryville opened with a 72-61 home win over Tiffin on November 11, but came up short the next night against No. 20 Walsh 72-61.
• Last week, the Saints picked up a pair of wins against Fonbonne University (W, 86-80) and Upper Iowa (W, 83-81). Against the Peacocks, Dewayne Vass scored at the buzzer, dribbled the length of the floor, and made a layup as the clock hit zero.
• Kelvin Swims posted a career-high 27 points on 12 of 20 shooting.
• JT Morgan collected seven rebounds.
• Jesse Shaw is in his third season as head coach after spending four years as an assistant coach at UMSL.
• The Saints finished 12-17 overall in 2021-22, 6-14 in the GLVC. 
• The postseason ended in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament at Lewis University (L, 69-61).

SCOUTING THE TRITONS

• The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team cruised to a 94-48 win over East-West University in its home opener at the Mark Twain Building on Thursday evening.
• The Tritons also have victories against No. 20 Walsh and Tiffin.
• UMSL was picked to finish seventh in the GLVC Preseason Poll coming off a 26-7 season that saw them advance to the Midwest Regional Final and win its first GLVC Championship since joining the conference.
• Two players returned from last year's squad. Isaiah Fuller appeared in 33 games with seven starts and averaged 6.2 points per game.
• Trever Moore played in 32 games with five starts and averaged 5.1 points per outing.
• Head Coach Bob Sundvold is in his 10th season at the helm of the program. He owns a 158-98 (.617) record, including back-to-back 20-win seasons (2018-19, 2019-20).

BIG PICTURE

• The Huskies begin GLIAC play at Wisconsin Parkside (Dec. 1) and Purdue Northwest (Dec. 3). 
• Tech has been selected for entry in the NCAA Region Tournament two of the last three years and has not finished below .500 overall since 2018-19. 
• In 101 seasons, the squad has made 11 NCAA appearances and won three GLIAC Tournament titles.
• The Huskies were selected fifth in the D2SIDA preseason midwest region rankings poll.