Huskies Men’s Hoops Fall Short at St. Cloud State, 64-61

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – For the third time in four games, the Michigan Tech men's basketball team found itself in a one-possession game in the final minutes of regulation before ultimately falling shy of victory as the Huskies lost 64-61 to St. Cloud State at Hallenbeck Hall on Tuesday.

"We didn't show the maturity I had hoped for to win on the road," head coach Josh Buettner said. "We didn't shoot it well and had some things not go our way but I wish we would've been more locked in on the things within our control." 

Michigan Tech (1-3) had an uncharacteristic game, scoring a season-low 24 points in the first half on just 9-for-31 from the field and an even more surprising 1-for-11 from deep.

On the flip side, St. Cloud State (3-1) knocked down five triples in the first half, with Anish Ramlall accounting for three. The Huskies also had a rebound advantage of 30-18, nine of which came on the offense end.

The only lead for the Black & Gold of the first half was at 2-0 before the SCSU jumped out to a 10-2 lead from a Ramlall triple at the 15:47 mark. The Huskies lead swelled to its largest of the half with 6:11 remaining at 25-12.

Michigan Tech then strung together the first of many runs from both teams, outscoring St. Cloud State 12-0 with Marcus Tomashek leading the offensive burst with four points. However, The Minnesotan Huskies wouldn't back down, stringing together an eight-point run to close the first half, 33-24.

MTU looked better out of the break, shooting 53.8 percent from the field and going 4-for-10 from downtown. The second half showcased runs from each team similar to the first half, with Tomashek pouring on 17 of the Huskies 37 second half points. Additionally, Nate Abel and Tyler Robarge chipped in seven points and eight points, respectively.

Tomashek scored 13 straight points for the Huskies to slice SCSU's lead to a point at 58-57 with 3:52 remaining.

Tech would take its first since the opening seconds with a Tomashek layup drawing a foul with 36 seconds remaining and the score 61-60.

St. Cloud State would get a layup from Jamiir Allen with 24 seconds remaining before having an untimely turnover in the last offensive possession out of a timeout, seeing Ramlall hit two free throws to seal the game 64-61.

Tomashek has been on fire to open the season, notching his four consecutive 20-point game. He was joined by Abel (11) and Robarge (10) in double-figure scoring. Tomashek and Adam Hobson each had a team-leading seven rebounds.

St. Cloud State was led by Anish Ramlall, who scored 22 points. Lucas Morgan had six points and a team-leading 10 rebounds.

Up Next

Michigan Tech continues non conference play this weekend, welcoming NSIC foes Minnesota Duluth and MSU Moorhead on Saturday and Sunday. Both games are slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff.