Late 12-0 run provides punch for Huskies
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 5 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men’s basketball squad saw four starters reach double-figure scoring in a 77-68 victory over Davenport at the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
For the second-straight day, Josh Terrian paced the offense with 18 points, going 6-11 from long range. Nate Abel and Gabe Smith each finished with double-doubles, with 14 points and 12 boards for Abel as Smith netted 11 points to go with 12 rebounds. Marcus Tomashek had 13 points and a team-high five assists.
Michigan Tech improves to 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the GLIAC as Davenport falls to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the league.
“I thought we played a lot better than Thursday,” said Michigan Tech head coach Josh Buettner. “Davenport watched what Grand Valley State did and got uber physical again and the one thing our guys did probably better than yesterday was keep playing.
“We had a couple of stretches today with transition defense, which we need to get shored up before next week, but I was proud of a lot of guys and I thought Nordgaard had a heck of a game, Nate was unbelievable and Josh has always been able to shoot and he still did all his normal Josh things defensively.”
After a basket from each team, the Huskies gained separation with three consecutive 3-pointers by Terrian, making it an 11-6 advantage in under four minutes played. Ty Fernholz and Matt Schmainda hit from long range with the trey by Schmainda, giving the Huskies a 21-13 edge with 11:31 remaining in the opening half.
Abel was a force for the Black & Gold in the first half, shooting 5-6 from the field, including two treys and a baseline fadeaway to conclude the scoring and see the Huskies ahead 40-33 heading into halftime.
The Huskies began the second half out-scoring the Panthers 9-3, holding the opposition to just 16.7% from the field through the 15:36 mark, seeing the Black & Gold pace Davenport 49-37.
The high-flying Panthers found their way back into the contest with baskets in transition, orchestrating a 9-0 run out of the media break as the Huskies would go scoreless for a couple of minutes, forcing MTU to take a timeout ahead 49-45 with 12:56 to go.
Davenport made it a one-possession affair with 12:16 to play after five-straight points from Ken Walker, making it 51-50 in favor of the home team, before Tomashek snapped the cold streak with a 3-pointer, then a jumper on the following trip down.
The Huskies were scoreless for almost three minutes while Davenport had evened the score before Tomashek drew a foul and connected on both free throws to reclaim the lead 60-58 with seven minutes remaining.
After the Huskies endured a marginal scoring drought, they returned the favor by holding the Panthers scoreless for 4:22 while pouring on 12 unanswered points to regain a double-digit lead (70-58) with 2:01 to go.
Abel and Fernholz each hit two free throws down the stretch before a layup by the Panthers decided the contest at 77-68.
Curtis Jackson led the Panthers with 23 points as Dylan Smith had a team-high six boards.
Up Next
Michigan Tech wraps four-straight home games next weekend hosting Northern Michigan Thursday and Ferris State on Saturday.
