Six Huskies score in double figures
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team saw six players reach double-digit scoring led by sophomore guard Matt Schmainda’s 14-point outing to propel the Huskies to a 106-43 win over Northland to wrap non-conference play inside the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
Schmainda shot a perfect six-for-six from the field, including two three-pointers to pace the Huskies’ offense. Five additional players reached double-digit scoring with career-highs from redshirt freshman Luke Hazelton (12 points) freshman Grant Warren (11 points) and Drew Barrie (11 points). Dawson Nordgaard added 11 points in 13 minutes of action, while redshirt freshman Gabe Smith neared his first double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Warren also neared his first career double-double with a team-leading nine boards.
As a team, the Black & Gold have shot over 50 percent for the fourth-straight game, finishing the game shooting 60.6 percent (43-for-71), including its second consecutive game, making double-digit 3-pointers, cashing in 16 triples.
The Huskies improve to 7-3 overall, extending its win streak to five games in addition to an undefeated record at home (4-0). Northland falls to 0-9 on the season.
“It was a good win and good to get back into rhythm with finals week,” Tech head coach Josh Buettner said. “I liked the way we had good intensity defensively and I thought the ball moved well on offense. It felt like we were scoring with ball movement and running our offense rather than feeling like we had an advantage one-on-one. We got better offensively because of how well we moved the ball.”
The Huskies had its highest-scoring first half, pouring in 51 points on a scorching 61.8 percent from the field, showcasing 11 players making the scoresheet.
Redshirt junior forward Dawson Nordgaard led the Huskies after 20 minutes with eight points while Josh Terrian, Nate Abel and Pete Calcaterra dished out three assists.
Over half of the first-half production came from the reserves as the bench garnered 26 total points, which also was the total points in the paint for the Black & Gold for the period.
After a sluggish opening five minutes of action, showing the Huskies leading 8-2, the Huskies strung together a 13-3 run capped by back-to-back buckets from Nordgaard. The Black & Gold got the offense flowing down the stretch with four 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the first period, with redshirt freshman Alex Calcaterra connecting from long range to send Michigan Tech to the locker room ahead of the Lumberjacks 52-15.
The Huskies followed its 52-point first half with an impressive 54-point final stanza. Barrie and Hazelton each recorded double-digit points in the second half leading to their career-scoring nights.
The Black & Gold saw 48 points off the bench and 26 in the paint in the final 20 minutes of action.
Tech’s largest lead came with 2:11 to play with a fastbreak euro step by Barrie making it a 67-point affair (103-36).
The Huskies finished with 106 points, its largest win since Dec. 15, 2021, when the Black & Gold bested Finlandia 122-52.
Gavin Barlett and Ian McFaggen contributed a team-leading 10 points as the lone double-digit scores while Stephen Kesti garnered a team-best five rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies will suit up one more time in 2024 with an exhibition tilt at Green Bay next Wednesday at noon.
