Huskies Men’s Hoops Outlasted by Saginaw Valley State in GLIAC Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saginaw Valley State (6-2,1-0 GLIAC) | 36 | 42 | 78 |
|
Michigan Tech (1-6,0-1 GLIAC) | 40 | 37 | 77 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team saw a career-high 39 points from sophomore guard Marcus Tomashek, but ultimately fell 78-77 to Saginaw Valley State to open conference play at the SDC Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
"Credit to Saginaw they are very athletic and made some tough and timely shots–we still weren't solid enough," head coach Josh Buettner said. "The first half we took care of the basketball and gave up offensive rebounds. In the second half we rebounded better but we turned it over in the second half. I thought our guys fought and there were some really good individual efforts. They made a couple more plays than us and there were some mistakes on our end but Saginaw played a good game."
Michigan Tech (1-6, 0-1 GLIAC) battled with Saginaw Valley State (6-2 ,1-0 GLIAC) in a one possession affair for the final six minutes of regulations with a chance to win the game with eight seconds left although, Tomashek's buzzer beater shot wedged between the rim and backboard ending up on the wrong end of a one-point game.
The two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest, with the biggest lead of the first half coming at 5:48 mark with a layup from SVSU's Freddie McIntosh making it 30-24. The Huskies largest lead came earlier in the game off a 3-pointer from Josh Terrian, making it 16-11 in favor of MTU with just over five minutes played.
Tomashek had 20 points in the first half, connecting on five 3-pointers as the Huskies shot 53.3 from long range to keep up with the fast paced Cardinals, entering halftime with a 40-36 advantage.
A 5-0 run with almost six minutes played in the second half would show Michigan Tech ahead of the Cardinals 56-50, backed by a Terrin triple and a layup from Pete Calcaterra on the next possession. The Huskies would sustain the lead until the 9:19 mark, where SVSU began to trade leads.
Tomashek scored Michigan Tech's final 17 points, while the Cardinals saw five of McIntosh's 31 points paired with baskets from Dylan West and Tre Garrett to trade leads down the stretch.
Tomashek finished with a staggering 39 points to lead all scorers. McIntosh joined him in the 30 point club with 31 for the Cardinals.
Calcaterra neared a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Terrain was close to his career-high with 10 points while chipping in four rebounds and two assists.
MTU made 13-of-22 from long range while going 18-of-22 from the charity stripe.
Up Next
The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, welcoming Wayne State for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
