Huskies have a four-game winning streak
DETROIT Mich. – The No. 13 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men’s basketball team saw 47 combined personal fouls and three starters foul out in a 77-73 victory over Wayne State at the Wayne State Fieldhouse Saturday.
Michigan Tech earned its first win in Detroit since Jan. 13, 2022, as Marcus Tomashek led a trio of Huskies in double-figure scoring with 23 points and a team-best four assists. Nate Abel went a perfect 6-6 from the field for 16 points despite fouling out in under 21 minutes of action. Jesse Napgezek added 10 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting.
The Huskies have now won four-straight for an overall record of 22-4 and a GLIAC-best 13-3. Wayne State drops to 11-11 overall and 8-8 in the loop.
Dawson Nordgaard had nine points and Gabe Smith had three rebounds as the other two starters who fouled out for the Black & Gold.
The Huskies’ 29 personal fouls added up to 37 free throw attempts for WSU. Thankfully, the Warriors struggled mightily from the charity stripe, going 21-37, missing seven foul shots on 14 tries in the first half.
“I’m happy with the resilience, we had some guys make some huge shots and I’m happy to get a win at Wayne State. This is the first win in this gym for the senior class,” Michigan Tech head coach Josh Buettner said. “I felt like we didn’t take care of the ball and coverage lapses in the first half and give credit to Wayne State in the second half and it was the other guys that had to play in crunch time with three guys fouling out.”
The Huskies opened the game with authority, jumping out to an 11-3 lead off of two triples by Josh Terrian, a layup by Abel and a trey by Tomashek by the 13:29 mark.
MTU got ahead by double-digits following a defensive rebound and layup by Napgezek midway through the period (17-7) before getting up to the largest lead of the half off a triple by Ty Fernholz with 4:47 remaining, making it 25-14.
The Huskies maintained a multiple-possession advantage with a 3-pointer by Matt Schmainda at the 1:28 mark before JaKobie Boose went 1-of-2 from the foul line to conclude the opening period, showcasing a 31-24 edge for Michigan Tech.
Abel led the team with seven points on 3-3 shooting as Carlos Paul III, Jalen Jenkins and Devin Belle recorded five points, respectively.
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the second half, seeing Wayne State outscore Michigan Tech 49-46 on 64 percent from the field. Tomashek took over with 20 points as Paul III (14) and Marshall Thorn (10) led the Warriors in a period that provided 38 combined free throws.
The Black & Gold got up to 13 points, the largest lead of the day off an and-one by Nordgaard at the 16:51 mark (43-30). Midway through the half the Warriors went on a 7-0 run by Paul III to cut the Huskies lead to one point, forcing a timeout by Tech (58-57).
WSU made it a tie game three times from the 6:09 mark to the 4:29 mark, although the Huskies never trailed.
Three free throws on two possessions by Tomashek and another trip to the line by Napgezek put the Huskies back ahead by five with 2:44 to go.
Boose threatened with a timely triple to cut the lead back to two and Thorn added 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 1:51 to play.
Tomashek was clutch with a midrange jumper at the 1:26 mark and a foul by Terrian translated into two misses at the free throw line by Paul III and then Boose went 1-of-2 with six seconds left as Tomashek iced the game with two makes from the free throw line with two seconds to go, deciding the game at 77-73 for the sixth GLIAC weekend sweep of the season
Paul III led four Warriors in double-figures with 19 as Thorn added 12 and a team-high seven boards. Jalem Jenkins chipped in seven points, four assists and three steals.
Up Next
The Huskies are back on the road for one game next week, traveling to No. 17 Northern Michigan on Thursday, slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
