Huskies raise GLIAC record to 5-1
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 12 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men’s basketball team earned its second GLIAC weekend sweep of the season, backed by 25 points by senior guard Marcus Tomashek, who surpassed 2,000 career points in the 81-72 victory over Ferris State at the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
The Green Bay, Wisconsin, standout went 14-15 from the charity stripe while shooting 5-12 from the field to propel the Black & Gold to a 14-2 overall standing and a 5-1 record in league play. Ferris State falls to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the loop.
“First off, I want to recognize Marcus. I know he has gotten a lot of accolades over the years, but 2,000 points is an impressive accomplishment and I’m really happy for him,” said Tech head coach Josh Buettner. “Give credit to Ferris they could’ve gone away a couple times, but they kept fighting back. They made timely plays and there’s things we need to get better at executing against an aggressive game plan, guarding the basketball and rebounding. There are no easy wins in the league and I’m happy to come out with a win.”
The Black & Gold scored eight-straight points to start the game before the Bulldogs found an answer from beyond the arc, knocking down three 3-pointers by the 12:55 mark to cut into the Huskies’ lead and make it 13-9.
The Huskies’ big men were a focal point early in the game as Dawson Nordgaard and Grant Warren combined for 13 points, respectively. Following a dunk by Warren, Josh Terrian connected from long range to make it a 30-15 game, the largest lead of the day for the Huskies, with 6:30 to play in the opening half.
The Bulldogs finished the half strong, scoring 16 points while allowing just eight, as the Black & Gold held a 38-31 advantage heading into halftime.
The visitors seemed to retain the momentum out of the break, as they orchestrated a 7-0 run to start the second half, forcing a Michigan Tech timeout less than 90 seconds into the period. From there, the Black & Gold went on a run of their own, pouring on 12-straight points with five points from Tomashek, including a rare dunk by the All-American, while Gabe Smith converted an and-one and a dunk as Nate Abel chipped in with a jumper to make it 50-38 with 16:12 to go.
Michigan Tech got ahead by as many as 16 in the second half following free-throws by Warren (60-44) at the 12:36 mark. However, the Bulldogs hung around and cut the Huskies’ double-digit lead to nine points off a 3-pointer by big man Justin Asi, who knocked down a game-high five treys.
With under a minute to play, the visitors cut the deficit to six points with a layup by Bryce Moore, although time was running out for the Bulldogs, who were forced to foul the remainder of the game, as the two teams totaled over 50 fouls for the game–ultimately seeing the Huskies prevail 81-72.
Nordgaard joined Tomashek in double-figure scoring with 11 points as Abel led the way with eight rebounds
Asi led his team with 21 points as Mykel Bingham and Tae Boyd recorded a team-high six boards.
Up Next
The Huskies return to the road after four-straight games in front of their home crowd, traveling to Saginaw Valley State on Thursday and Lake Superior State on Saturday.
