21-3 run puts game on ice
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team won its third straight game by double digits on Thursday night, cruising past the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 82-68.
Locked into a tied game with just over 12 minutes to play, the Wildcats scored a dozen unanswered and a 21-3 spurt over a four-minute stretch to run away with it. Northern never trailed in the contest.
It was a well-balanced attack for the Green and Gold, as seven players scored 7+ points with five of those reaching double figures. Jackson Dudek led the way with 16 points, going 6-9 from the floor and 2-3 from three. Since entering the starting lineup three games ago, Dudek is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting a masterful 19-24 (79.2%) from the field.
Sam Privet and Dylan Kuehl each followed with 13. The three starting forwards accounted for NMU’s first 20 points of the game and 28 of the 38 in the first half. Derek Merwick reached a dozen while Cal Klesmit added 10.
The Wildcats were 28-55 (50.9%) from the field, marking the sixth time this season they converted on at least half of their shot attempts. The Cardinals were 23-57 (40.4%) overall. NMU controlled the glass to a 37-27 advantage, with guard Gerald Gittens Jr. tying a career-high with nine rebounds.
NMU started just as any road team hopes to do in the GLIAC, leading 8-2 just 100 seconds in. Dudek scored the first five with an and-one while Privet followed with a corner triple. The duo would score the first 13 points for NMU as they led 13-4 just over three minutes in.
Back-to-back threes from Dudek and Klesmit gave Northern its largest lead of the first half, 23-9, only six and a half minutes in.
The Cardinals fought back with a 9-0 run to get back in it and another 6-0 run with the opening half winding down would cut Northern’s lead to one, 32-31. NMU would hold a 38-34 lead at intermission after Merwick connected on a jumper in the final seconds.
The frontcourt showcase continued at the start of the second half with buckets from Kuehl and Dudek. The Cardinals continued to hang around and got nine straight points from Freddie McIntosh, including a three, to tie the game at 49-49 with just over 12 minutes to play.
In response, Klesmit knocked down a three and was fouled, converting on a four-point play. NMU’s push didn’t stop there, with Privet and Dudek each adding shots from beyond the arc as part of a 12-0 run to lead 61-49 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The offense really started to cook late in the game, going on another 9-0 spurt after an SVSU three to lead 70-52 with seven minutes to play.
The Wildcats held its largest lead of 20 at 81-61 with 2:10 to play. NMU’s 44 second half points came on 14-25 (56.0%), while the Cardinals were just 14-25 (37.9%) over the final 20 minutes.
The win puts the ‘Cats record at 15-6 overall and 9-4 in league play. With Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State both losing on Thursday, NMU now is one game behind Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, and Ferris State, who are all sitting in a three-way tie at 10-3 atop the GLIAC.
Up Next
The Wildcats head to Detroit to take on Wayne State on Saturday, February 8 at 3 p.m.
