Five Wildcats in double figures
MARQUETTE, Mich. – A 19-0 run to start the second half guided the Northern Michigan men’s basketball team to a 75-62 victory over the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
The ‘Cats found themselves trailing 33-28 at halftime, but came roaring out of the break with a 19-0 explosion, with a dozen of those coming from Cal Klesmit, to surge to victory. NMU’s 47-29 second half advantage was in large part thanks to Klesmit and Gerald Gittens Jr., who each knocked down three triples in the half.
Klesmit and Gittens Jr. were just two of five Wildcats to reach double figures, the second time this season Northern had five score at least 10. Julien Smith led the way with 17, Sam Privet added 16, Klesmit notched 12, and Dylan Kuehl and Gittens Jr. each scored 11. Derek Merwick dished out a career-high six assists in his first start and Privet led the way on the glass with eight rebounds. SVSU’s Freddie McIntosh led all scorers with 21.
NMU shot 23-53 (43.4%) overall while the Cardinals were 22-60 (36.7%). The Wildcats were efficient at the charity stripe, knocking down 19-22 (86.4%) for its second best performance there this season. NMU turned the ball over just six times and held a 13-4 edge in points off turnovers.
Kuehl opened the night with a hook shot in the paint, but it was the Cardinals who came out on fire, connecting on each of its first six shots as part of a 16-2 run to lead 16-3 just over four minutes into the game.
A Smith triple halted the SVSU run and Northern then held the Cardinals scoreless for over five minutes, but the ‘Cats could only manage five points in that span as they trailed 21-11 with 9:30 before halftime.
Down 26-13, a Privet three and Smith fastbreak and-one kickstarted a 10-0 run for the Green and Gold to get back in the game. Smith knocked down another corner three to tie the game at 28-28, but the last five went to the Cardinals as they led 33-28 at the break. Privet paced NMU with a dozen in the opening 20 minutes.
The ‘Cats then took over to start the second half. Klesmit sparked the lengthy run with a logo three followed by another in which he was fouled for a four-point play to quickly give NMU the lead. They would continue to build on the advantage with Klesmit knocking down another triple and accounting for 12 of the 19 in the run.
The NMU defense also played its part, holding the Panthers scoreless for 6:45 before they got on the board. It was a polar opposite start to the second half for the Cardinals compared to the first half, as they missed its first nine shots.
From there, Gittens Jr. hit a trio of shots from beyond the arc and scored all 11 of his points in the final 12 minutes of action to maintain the lead the rest of the way through. Kuehl and Privet both added dunks in the half, with Privet providing the final exclamation point to cap off the victory.
With the victory, the ‘Cats improved to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals fell to 6-10 and 2-6 in the conference.
Up Next
A tough road trip awaits the Wildcats, as they will visit two of the top teams in the nation in Ferris State and Lake Superior State. NMU will stop at Ferris State first, clashing with the Bulldogs on Thursday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m.
