Huskies stay tied with NMU for league lead
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 6 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men’s basketball team earned a 75-74 decision over Wayne State, backed by a 35-point game by Marcus Tomashek inside the SDC Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
Tomashek recorded his 18th career game of 30 or more points, shooting 11-19 from the field, 6-11 from trey and 7-9 from the free throw line to go with two assists. Gabe Smith and Matt Schmainda each contributed 10 points in the first half to join Tomashek in the double-figure scoring.
The Huskies win-streak extends to six games for an overall record of 17-2 and a league-best 8-1. Wayne State drops to 8-7 overall and 5-4 in the loop.
“Trying to simulate coming out of the half with the lead didn’t work—credit to Wayne State, I thought they played lights out in the second half,” said Tech head coach Josh Buettner. “I thought the first half we executed as well as we did all year offensively and defensively. Turnovers were pretty disturbing in the second half and I think we did a pretty good job shrinking the floor for stretches but the seams opened up again. The last five minutes I thought we got back to executing and made some winning plays down the stretch. I’m proud of the guys and the win.”
In a tale of two halves, the Huskies could do no wrong in the first 20 minutes, once again leading early and often with Dawson Nordgaard having six points in under four minutes to jump out to an 11-4 edge. Schmainda connected on two 3-pointers and added a layup between the two shots from long range to extend the lead to 13 points nearing the halfway point of the opening stanza (23-10). Smith added a five-point spurt with a 3-pointer and a layup before Grant Warren got a dunk for the largest lead of the day with 2:27 to play in the first half (42-23).
Jesse Napgezek went 1-2 from the free-throw line down the stretch to make it a 20-point advantage for the Huskies heading into half.
After shooting under 30 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, the Warriors got hot in the second half, hitting four 3-pointers in the first 6:25 to cut the Huskies’ lead down to nine points.
The Black & Gold found a scoring run to extend the lead back to 13 points off a jumper by Ty Fernholz at the 12:28 mark, although the double-digit advantage would not stick around long.
The Warriors used a 15-point run to erase the Huskies’ lead and take their first lead of the day with a layup by Carlos Paul III with under seven minutes to play (56-54).
Tomashek began to take over the game, scoring 10-straight points himself to reclaim the lead with a five-point edge before Smith pulled down an offensive rebound that translated into a 3-pointer by Josh Terrian, to push the lead back to eight points with 2:38 to go.
The Warriors clawed back into the contest at the free-throw line, using four free throws by Jordan Briggs and two from Paul III to make it a one-possession game, trailing 74-72 with 38 seconds remaining.
With Wayne State left to foul, Tomashek went 1-2 from the charity stripe to make it a three-point affair with five seconds to play, before the Huskies fouled Briggs, going 2-for-2 from the free throw line. With a second on the clock, the Warriors fouled Smith and ultimately ran out of time to get a final shot off, deciding the contest 75-74.
Wayne State poured on 51 points on 60.7 percent from the field, including 8-13 from trey (61.5%).
Nate Abel once again led the Huskies in rebounding (8) and assists (6).
Jordan Briggs led a trio of Warriors in double-figure scoring with 21 points as Jotham Nweke pulled down a team-high six boards.
Up Next
The Huskies remain at home for the weekend, welcoming Purdue Northwest to the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday, slated for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff.
