Tied with LSSU on top of GLIAC standings
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team recorded its fourth GLIAC weekend sweep of the season and the first series sweep of the Lakers since the 2017-18 campaign with a full-team effort victory over Grand Valley State in front of 1,026 fans, the highest home crowd of the season, at the SDC Gymnasium on Alumni Day.
The Black & Gold were led by four players in double-figure scoring, with Tomashek leading the way with a game-high 24 points as the Huskies remain perfect at home with an overall record of 14-5 and a GLIAC standing of 10-2 to lead the conference. Grand Valley State falters 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the loop.
“Credit to Grand Valley. I thought they came out and played really hard, obviously, they had a tough game on Thursday and came ready to play,” said Tech head coach Josh Buettner. “I thought our guys fought and guarded according to the scout. I thought we rebounded well and for the most part, we did better getting back in transition. As a whole, I thought that we competed and the defensive standard that we’re trying to set is there and that’s a good win against a good team.”
The Huskies gained 10 points from the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scorers as the Black & Gold shot 51.5 percent, including cashing in on eight 3-pointers to pace the Lakers. Dawson Nordgaard was perfect inside for the Huskies in the first half, adding eight points on 4-for-4 from the floor. Matt Schmainda and Adam Hobson came off the bench to give the Huskies a spark as the duo each accounted for two 3-pointers in the opening frame.
The Lakers got on the board first and from there, it was all Michigan Tech as the Huskies used a 5-0 from off a 3-pointer by Tomashek and a floater by Nate Abel at the 14:36 mark to make it 13-7.
Jalen Charity gave the lead back to the opposition with 11:07 to play (17-16) before the Huskies went on a 12-2 run that started and ended with 3-pointers, first by Schaminda and then Hobson with an emphatic dunk by Gabe Smith in transition sandwiched in the middle, seeing the Huskies lead balloon to seven-points with 8:53 to play, forcing a GVSU timeout.
Nordgaard would give the Huskies a boost with two baskets in the paint before two free-throws by Calcaterra would give Michigan Tech its largest lead of the day heading into the halftime break ahead 44-33.
The Huskies held the advantage for the entire second half and despite going 3-for-12 from long range in the second frame, the Black & Gold were near-perfect at the foul line (14-15), finishing the game shooting 94.1 percent from the charity stripe (16-17).
Tomashek led the team with 14 second-half points with Hobson (seven points), Nordgaard (six points) and Schmainda (five points) also doing vital damage.
Michigan Tech hovered around a double-digit lead for most of the season half until the Lakers began to fall behind at the 3:53 mark following a technical foul assessed to GVSU’s head coach, which quickly turned into the Huskies pulling ahead by 18, the most of the game following foul shots from Hobson and Nordgaard before the game was at 81-66 with a free throw by Kaden Brown with 26 seconds remaining.
“Anytime we get a chance to play in front of our fans, it’s always fun–especially against a team like Grand Valley,” Hobson added. “This team has great chemistry and we have pretty clear roles and are playing with a bunch of confidence right now.”
Following Tomashek’s 24 points, Nordgaard (14), Hobson (13) and Schmainda (11) also scored in double figures, with Hobson also earning six rebounds for a team-high.
Jalen Charity led a trio of Lakers in double-figure scoring with 13 points, as Cam Regnerus had a team-leading seven rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies return to the road traveling downstate for the final time in the regular season, with a matchup against Wayne State on Thursday before a clash at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday.
