Purdue Northwest accidentally tried to use six players
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team turned in a dominating defensive performance to open the GLIAC schedule, defeating the Purdue Northwest Pride 70-54 to move to 5-2 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.
The Pride entered the game averaging over 87 points per game, and the Wildcats defense held them to more than 33 points off of their season average. The Pride shot just 19-56 (33.9%) from the field and 7-26 (26.9%) from beyond the arc, both season-lows defensively for the NMU squad. Northern was 24-59 (40.7%) from the floor while hitting 8-24 (33.3%) from downtown.
The disruptive defense was getting after it all night, forcing the Pride into 14 turnovers while the ‘Cats notched eight steals and six blocks, both top-two outputs this season. NMU scored 19 points off those 14 PNW mishaps. Gerald Gittens paced the way with three steals while Sam Privet swatted three shots.
Offensively, Northern was led by Dylan Kuehl with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Brian Parzych added 14 points, 10 of those coming in an elite second half showcasing from the senior point guard. Julien Smith chipped in a dozen while four others scored at least five points. Biggie Luster was dominant on the glass, pulling down a career-high nine rebounds. The Pride’s Jailen Nelson led all scorers with 20 points.
NMU controlled the paint 32-12 while holding a 41-32 edge on the glass.
The game started slow as the offenses struggled to get going out of the gate. After the Pride led 9-7, a game of runs ensued, as the ‘Cats scored five straight to lead, followed by eight from the Pride to regain the advantage, answered by eight from NMU, and again followed by eight straight from PNW.
Tied at 25’s in the final seconds, Gittens knocked down a corner three and the Pride had six players on the court on the ensuing play, resulting in a technical foul. NMU led 29-25 at the break as both offenses hovered around 30.0% shooting.
Northern Michigan made its move out of halftime, scoring 17 of the first 22 to lead 46-30 six minutes into the second half action. Parzych provided the spark NMU needed during that run, scoring 10 second-half points. The senior sparked a sequence with a cutting layup, then dished out a beautiful assist to Privet on the following possession, and followed it with a three the next trip down the hardwood. He would add back-to-back layups just a couple minutes later to keep the foot on the gas.
After that NMU run, the rest of the game saw a lot of back-and-forth. The Pride dwindled its deficit to as little as eight, but Northern stayed composed and led by as many as 19, holding a double-digit advantage for much of the second half.
Up Next
The Wildcats will host the Parkside Rangers on Saturday, December 7 at 2 p.m.
