Three other Wildcats score in double figures
KENOSHA, Wis. – Cal Klesmit exploded for a career-high 30 points to lead the Northern Michigan Wildcats to an 82-78 victory over the Parkside Rangers in the GLIAC opener on Thursday night.
With a previous career-high of 13 points, Klesmit more than doubled his best, shooting 9-19 (47.4%) from the field, 6-10 (60%) from three, and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line, including two in the closing seconds that helped ice the game. The redshirt sophomore hit three triples in each half and added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
His scoring came at crucial moments. He hit two threes in the early minutes to help NMU start strong. He added another six points late in the first half to withstand a Parkside run and send the game to halftime in a deadlock. After a couple of early buckets in the second half, he went on a personal 8-0 run to help NMU pull away.
Behind Klesmit, Dylan Kuehl added 18 points along with a career-high seven assists and seven rebounds. Trevor Polite reached double figures for the first time in his career with 10 points on a perfect 4-4 from the field, also contributing five rebounds and three assists. Charlie Miller added 10 points, including the final two free throws in the closing seconds, to make it a two-possession game.
Luka Mateski and Paxton Warden each scored 23 for the Rangers.
Northern attempted 12 more shots than the Rangers, going 31 of 65 (47.7%) from the field and 10 of 23 (43.5%) from three. Parkside had similar numbers, shooting 47.2% from the floor and 45.8% from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats committed a season-low five turnovers, fueling a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
Northern improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the GLIAC, while the Rangers fall to 3-2. The win also marks NMU’s sixth straight victory in the series.
How it Happened
Northern Michigan got off to a hot start from beyond the arc, with Cal Klesmit opening the scoring with a three. Trevor Polite and Charlie Miller added triples of their own before Klesmit struck again, giving the Wildcats a sudden 12-3 lead in less than four minutes.
Parkside responded with six straight points to get back within a possession, but Isaiah Allen’s putback helped NMU maintain the edge. The Wildcats’ first 16 points came from their guards until Sam Privet connected on a floater, giving NMU an 18-14 advantage halfway through the first half.
The Rangers then went on a 7-0 run to claim their first lead at 21-20 at 7:30. Dylan Kuehl scored his first two buckets, but Paxton Warden kept Parkside in control, pouring in 10 straight points and totaling 19 in just 10 minutes with three triples to put the Rangers ahead 29-26 with five minutes remaining.
Polite and Klesmit hit additional threes to keep the Wildcats in striking distance, but Parkide’s Jake Dunham caught fire late in the half, hitting two threes and scoring eight straight points for Parkside. Kuehl’s late basket tied the game at 40-40 heading to the locker room, despite Parkside shooting 8 of 13 (61.5%) from three.
Klesmit led NMU with 13 points, while Warden paced Parkside with 19.
Kuehl opened the second half with a hook shot, and Miller and Klesmit added threes to put NMU ahead 48-42. A crucial sequence followed as Trevor Polite chased down an offensive rebound and called a timeout while falling out of bounds, leading to a Klesmit layup that pushed his total to 20 points and NMU’s lead to 54-46 with 13:56 remaining.
The Wildcats had multiple chances to extend the lead into double digits, but Parkside stayed close, cutting it to 56-53 with 11 minutes left. Klesmit then caught fire, hitting his fifth three of the game, two free throws on the next trip, and a sixth three shortly after to give NMU its largest lead at 64-53 with 9:33 left.
Polite and Kuehl each reached double figures on back-to-back possessions, including a two-handed dunk by Kuehl, as the Wildcats stretched the lead to 72-59 with 4:15 remaining. Parkside responded with a six-point run, but Kuehl halted the rally with a pull-up jumper.
The Rangers stayed within striking distance, hitting a three to cut the lead to 78-73 with 36 seconds left and narrowing it to three with 15 seconds left. Klesmit then sank a pair of crucial free throws to reach 30 points, and after a Parkside three in the closing seconds made it 82-80, Miller iced the win with two free throws with 4.1 seconds left, extending the final margin to four.
Up Next
Northern will head to Roosevelt to take on the Lakers on Saturday, December 6, at 4 p.m. ET.
