Huskies take over first place in GLIAC
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech men’s basketball veteran guard Adam Hobson erupted for a season-high 24 points on seven-of-10 shooting to help erase a 14-point deficit with 17:01 to play in the second half to down No. 15 Lake Superior State 80-75 in front of over 1,000 fans at the SDC Gymnasium on Senior Day Saturday.
The Huskies remain unbeaten at home with one game to play at the SDC Gymnasium in the regular season, holding an overall record of 18-6 and residing atop the GLIAC at 13-3. Lake Superior State falls to 21-5 overall and 12-4 in the loop.
“Lake Superior State is a really good team—to play without Marcus that much, the way things started, how they went into the half, all of the above, our guys kept fighting,” said head coach Josh Buettner. “The guys kept working and making plays—we talked about it being Lake State’s fourth game on the road in a row and I thought in the second half we did a better job with our defensive scout. Credit to Lake State, they made a lot of plays in the first half. We made them get out of their comfort zone a little better in the second half.
“It shows a lot about our team that we can pick it up when Marcus is out and it was unfortunate he didn’t get to play all that much. Today, Hobs just stepped into the Marc role down the stretch and I’m really happy for Hobs, he was just spectacular on Senior Day.”
After four straight points from Gabe Smith to open the game, the Lakers began to settle in and took a 16-8 advantage heading into a media timeout at the 11:38 mark, as the Huskies went scoreless for over three minutes.
Lake Superior State jostled with Michigan Tech for a double-digit lead the remainder of the half with 3-pointers by Matt Schmainda, Josh Terrian and Hobson keeping the Huskies around. However, LSSU scored four free throws to end the half ahead 42-31.
The Lakers sustained a double-digit advantage in the early showings of the second half, but the Huskies continued to shoot their way back into the game. Michigan Tech knocked down seven 3-pointers in the second half, two from Terrian and four from Hobson, who scored 21 second-half points as the Preseason GLIAC Player of the Year, Marcus Tomashek struggled with fouls early before bowing out with 6:23 to play and the Huskies down 67-63.
With 8:20 to play, Lake Superior State remained in the driver’s seat with an eight-point advantage following a putback by Adam Harakow before Hobson accounted for back-to-back 3-pointers and Abel added four consecutive points to make it a two-point deficit with 6:02 to go.
The tides quickly changed back in favor of the home team moments later as Dawson Nordgaard drew a foul and capitalized on two free throws before dishing an assist to a Terrian 3-pointer on the next possession to give Michigan Tech its first lead of the second half (70-69). Hobson’s heroics continued down the stretch with a steal in transition, turning into two free-throws and a three-point advantage.
The battled test Lakers would not go away quietly, keeping it a one-possession affair with under two minutes to play, before Hobson knocked a loose ball out to Nate Abel, who hit the biggest shot of his career with an expiring shot clock and a lucky bounce to put the Huskies ahead by four (77-73) with 1:11 to go.
It was once again a three-point outing with 47 seconds to play and a late second 3-pointer by Tyson Edmondson wouldn’t fall, ultimately sending Terrian to the line for foul shots to seal the game at 80-75.
“Regardless of who we’re playing anytime we’re getting a win in the Wood Gym it’s a big deal,” added Hobson. “There was more than enough motivation to play in front of our fans today and they were electric for us in the second half and this is definitely a game we aren’t going to forget.”
Following Hobson, three additional Huskies reached double-figure scoring as Nordgaard and Terrian added 11 points, while Smith, in his third career start, chipped in 10 points. Abel produced nine points and a team-leading seven rebounds, tying his career-high.
As always, the Lakers showcased a well-balanced attack as four players reached double-figure scoring, led by Edmondson’s 18 points. Kingsley Perkins had a team-leading eight boards to go with 15 points, as Harakow (13) and Devin Womack (12) rounded out the double-digit production.
