Huskies still prevail 67-64; stay in first place of GLIAC
Courtesy NMU – HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team stormed back late in the second half after trailing by as many as 17 and tied the game in the final minute, but ultimately fell just short for the third straight game against a ranked opponent on Thursday Night, losing at No. 22 Michigan Tech 67-64.
Playing in front of a ruckus crowd, inconsistent shooting and several whistles going against the Green and Gold through the first 30 minutes were certainly a tough task to overcome.
Even with everything against them, the Wildcats certainly made a game of it. Trailing by 17 with just over eight minutes left, Northern broke out on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to four with four minutes left. A Gerald Gittens triple made it a one-point game with 1:45 to go and four straight free throws from Dylan Kuehl tied the game in the final minute.
The Huskies answered by connecting on a jumper and going 2-2 at the free throw line to lead by four, but Julien Smith responded with a three to make it 65-64 with 3.2 seconds left.
Michigan Tech again converted 2-2 at the charity stripe and the final shot, a three-point attempt from Smith at the buzzer, fell short as the Huskies held off the ‘Cats charge.
The Wildcats shot 24-58 (41.4%) overall while the Huskies were the slightest notch better at 22-53 (41.5%). NMU was 6-22 (27.3%) from three to Tech’s 8-25 (32.0%).
Over the first 30+ minutes, the Wildcats started 0-12 from three and only stood at 37 points. NMU flipped a switch to make it a game late, scoring 27 of their 64 over the final nine minutes. NMU went 8-12 from the floor over an eight-minute stretch as the game sat tied at 61’s in the final minute, but the ‘Cats then made just one of their final five shot attempts over the final 20 seconds.
Dylan Kuehl broke 20 points for the third consecutive game, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-14. He also pulled down 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Sam Privet followed with 13. Michigan Tech’s Tomashek scored 21 on 8-20 shooting, while Adam Hobson notched 13.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 16-9 and 10-7 in the conference, while the Huskies improved to 19-6 overall and 14-3 to pace the GLIAC, while also staying perfect at home at 12-0.
How it Happened
Dylan Kuehl got things going for Northern with a nifty spin and fade. He would score NMU’s first six points, but NMU started just 3-13 from the floor and found themselves behind 15-6 at the first half’s midway point.
Kuehl would continue his hot start as the half winded down, converting 3-3 at the FT line and following it with a rolling layup to tie the game at 18-18 with 4:25 before halftime. The Huskies would score the next 10 and hold a 30-22 lead at the break. NMU had only three scorers in the first half, led by Kuehl with 13.
The whistles came from seemingly every direction against NMU to start the second half. After a Tech triple, the Huskies followed with three consecutive and-ones in the first three minutes to lead 42-28. NMU was called for five fouls in less than four minutes and were tagged with eight of the first nine calls in the second half, halting any NMU momentum.
Even fighting an uphill battle, Biggie Luster connected on a three with 11:30 to play, NMU’s first after an 0-12 start, to keep it within single digits at 44-37.
The ‘Cats then broke out on a 13-0 run a couple of minutes later to get back in it, thanks to triples from Cal Klesmit (x2) and Jackson Dudek. Another three from Gittens cut the deficit to one with under two minutes to play. Kuehl followed that with back-to-back 2-2 trips at the free throw line to even the score at 61’s in the final minute.
Tech’s Tomashek answered with a bank shot and NMU missed three times the next trip down the floor. After Tech went 2-2 at the FT line to make it a four-point game, Smith hit a three to again cut it to one in the final seconds. The Huskies again went 2-2 and Smith’s deep three at the buzzer fell just short as NMU dropped its third straight heartbreaker.
Up Next
The final road trip of the regular season has arrived, as NMU will get ready to head to Chicago to take on Roosevelt on Monday before staying on the road to take on Purdue Northwest and Parkside next weekend to close out the lengthy week-long trip.
Michigan Tech visits Roosevelt Saturday.
