Nordgaard has first double-double with ten points and ten rebounds
DULUTH, Minn. – Junior guard Marcus Tomashek scored a career-high 40 points (15-for-29) to slay the No. 3 nationally-ranked undefeated dragons of MSU Moorhead, 74-70 to conclude the St. Louis County Basketball Classic in Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday.
Michigan Tech moves to 3-3 in non-conference play, handing No. 3 MSU Moorhead its first loss of the season (5-1). MSU Moorhead had won the last three meetings against Michigan Tech, with the win being the first over the Dragons since Nov. 20, 2009 (62-56).
Tomashek tabbed the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, scored 30 of the team’s total 42 points in the second half, shooting over 50 percent from the field, hitting four 3-pointers and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Dawson Nordgaard was the lone Husky to join Tomashek with double-digit points, scoring 10 points to go with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in 23 minutes.
“That was a huge win for us. The guys brought it again today. It was good to get a win instead of a morale victory boost,” Tech head coach Josh Buettner said. “A lot of guys stepped up and made winning plays. The last ten minutes we were terrific defensively and we have one of the best players in the country to take over offensively and he was special and fun to watch.”
Tomashek accounted for seven points at the halfway mark of the first half as the Huskies maintained a seven-point lead (23-16), earning their largest lead of the period.
The Dragon duo of Jacob Beeninga and Jacob Jennissen combined for 13 points, with nine-straight points from Beeninga giving the Dragons its first lead since the opening minute as Levi Berkholz and Shawn Wysocki added scores to claim a 35-32 advantage heading into halftime.
MSU Moorhead controlled the first 10 minutes of the second frame, leading by double-figures five times, with its largest lead coming off a Beeninga jumper at the 10:25 mark, making it a 54-42 game.
From that point, the Huskies outscored the Dragons 32-16 propelled by an astonishing 26 points from Tomashek. Josh Terrian kindled the outburst, scoring a fastbreak layup before getting a steal, which translated into a layup from Gabe Smith to cut the lead to six points at the 8:49 mark.
Tomashek scored on the Huskies next three possessions before Nordgaard converted on a fastbreak opportunity as Terrian earned his second assist in two minutes to cut the deficit to one point (56-55) with 6:34 to play.
The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native tied the game three times before ultimately reclaiming the lead with 38 seconds remaining following a jumper. The Dragons had two shots to tie or retake the lead before being forced to foul down the stretch, seeing the Tomashek takeover snap their five-game win streak following two free-throws with six seconds remaining, deciding the game at 74-70.
Kinsey scored a team-high 27 points and nine rebounds for the Dragons, while Beeninga (21 points) and Jennissen (12 points) also reached double-digit scoring.
Up Next
The Huskies face another NSIC foe in St. Cloud State on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in its home opener at the SDC Gymnasium to conclude the opening slate of non-conference play.
