Breaks two-game losing streak
HOUGHTON, Mich. – After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season last weekend, the No. 17 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men’s basketball saw 54 combined points from Marcus Tomashek (36) and Josh Terrian (18) as the team shot 54.4 percent from the field in a convincing 96-76 win over Lake Superior State at the SDC Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
Michigan Tech moves to 19-4 overall and 10-3 in the GLIAC, while Lake Superior State drops to 11-11 overall and 5-8 in the league.
“There wasn’t much more of a ‘must win’ game than today and if you could pick one team to not play coming off a two-game losing streak on the road, it’s Lake State,” It took a monumental effort from us today to come out with a win,” said Tech head coach Josh Buettner. “I was proud of the way Marcus defended and moved it and the group of seniors as a whole was great today and I hope we get a good crowd on Saturday to enjoy how good these guys have been.”
The Huskies jumped out to a 13-5 edge after knocking down their first five shots. Gabe Smith started the day with a slam dunk by Dawson Nordgaard before Nate Abel hit a stepback jumper and a 3-pointer, followed by two 3-pointers by Tomashek, not even three minutes into the game.
However, the Lakers went on a 15-5 run that extended to the 11:26 mark to take a 23-19 lead before the under 12 minute media break. The Huskies continued to trail Lake Superior State most of the first half, reclaiming the lead for a moment with 7:10 to play off a triple by Tomashek (30-29).
Jesse Napgezek had an emphatic dunk slipping through the lane with 2:37 remaining in the half and maintained the lead heading into halftime with six-straight points from Tomashek, four points came from the foul line to make it 48-44 after 20 minutes.
Tomashek had 21 points through halftime to lead all scorers as Napgezek added eight off the bench.
The two teams jostled for the first 10 minutes of the second half, with the Lakers leading by as much as four points and the Huskies earning a seven-point edge off a 3-pointer by Terrian at the 11:57 mark.
A 3-pointer by the Lakers’ Hunter Sorrelle made it a two-point game with 10:02 to play, but the Huskies quickly gained separation with a 3-pointer by Terrian, a layup by Tomashek and a steal and slam by Smith with 7:28 to go, making it a 10-point affair (73-63).
From there, the Huskies maintained a double-digit lead. Terrian knocked down his sixth triple of the day with under two minutes to play (86-69) before Drew Barrie capped the game with five unanswered points off two free throws and a 3-pointer to decide the game at 96-76, the highest scoring GLIAC win of the season.
Napgezek joined Tomashek and Terrian in double-figure scoring with 10 points as Abel led the Huskies with seven rebounds.
Carter-Smith had a team-leading 20 points and five rebounds as Suleiman (16) and Tyler Jamison (12) also reached double-figure scoring.
Up Next
The Huskies conclude the home weekend on Saturday, hosting Saginaw Valley State at 2:00 p.m. for Alumni Day.
