Lakers can’t overcome big first half deficit
HOUGHTON, Mich. – January. February. Majkrzak. For the second time in three seasons, head coach Matt Majkrzak and the Northern Michigan men’s basketball team are GLIAC Tournament Champions, defeating the Lake Superior State Lakers 78-63.
With the win, the ‘Cats punched the GLIAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field of 64 teams, currently holding a 22-9 record that’s backed by a six-game winning streak.
As has been the case for much of the season, it was a true test of grit and perseverance for the Green and Gold, having to knock off the conference’s top-seed in Michigan Tech and No. 2 seed in Lake Superior State, both nationally ranked squads that they lost to twice in the regular season, in order to raise the hardware.
The Wildcats never trailed in the game and thoroughly dominated the first half with a 40-18 lead at halftime, the lowest point total for LSSU in a half as well as any NMU opponent this season.
Without All-GLIAC First Teamer Dylan Kuehl for most of the first half due to injury, It would have taken a full team effort to get the job done and that’s exactly what the Wildcats put forth. Jackson Dudek led the way with a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds, shooting 8-12 from the field. He earned the GLIAC Tournament MVP honors after averaging 15.7 points and shooting 67.9% over the three games.
Four other ‘Cats reached double figures. Julien Smith added 15 points with three triples and several clutch shots throughout the game. Brian Parzych added 12, Gerald Gittens another 11, and Sam Privet 10.
Northern shot 27-59 (45.8%) for the game and 8-22 (36.4%) from three. They held the Lakers to 20-54 (37.0%) overall and just 3-20 (15.0%) from three. The Wildcat defense had its best half of the season in the first 20 minutes, holding LSSU to just 5-26 (19.2%).
The Wildcats also dominated the glass 44-30 and held a touchdown advantage in second chance points, 7-0.
Sitting at 22-9, the Wildcats will now wait to see who they’ll match up with in the Midwest region in the big dance in tonight’s NCAA Selection Show, taking place at 11p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
How it Happened
It didn’t look good for the Wildcats just 1:13 in, as leading scorer Dylan Kuehl went down with an injury and had to be helped to the sideline.
It didn’t take long to see that his teammates had his back and were able to step up, as the ‘Cats jumped ahead 8-0 in the first three minutes. The Lakers started 0-5 from the field, finally getting their first scratch at 16:10.
On the contrary, the ‘Cats had it going early. Parzych connected on a three, Dudek hit a turnaround, Privet converted an and-one, and Derek Merwick flashed with a floater to push the lead to 10, 22-12, at 7:54.
The lead continued to balloon with the opening half winding down. Ending the half on a 14-1 run, Julien Smith capped it off with a deep three to beat the halftime horn and lead 40-18 at the break. The 22-point halftime cushion was the largest the ‘Cats would hold in the game.
Julien with the halftime buzzer beater??
‘Cats lead 40-18 at the break! pic.twitter.com/NuhzS1K1MG– Northern Michigan Men’s Basketball (@NMUMensBBALL) March 9, 2025
The Lakers scored the first six of the second half and started on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 12, 42-30. Northern answered with the next six, with two buckets coming from Smith on highly-contested looks.
LSSU came right back with the next seven and made it a single-digit game at 50-42 with 12:18 left in the half.
Perhaps the biggest moment in the game, NMU pulled out the UNO reverse card with a 9-0 run to quickly push its lead back to 59-42 with 11 minutes left. Smith and Dudek each hit a three and Parzych added the other three the old-fashioned way.
The Lakers managed another 7-0 run after that, but still trailed 62-50 with the clock down under seven minutes. They’d trim their deficit to seven with 3:07 and 2:49 left.
The Wildcat veterans answered the call after that. Parzych converted a baseline lay-in, followed that with a steal, and Kuehl flushed home an exclamation putback dunk to lead 72-61 with two minutes left. If that wasn’t the nail in the coffin, Gittens added five throws in the final 1:05 to put the game on ice and bring the hardware back to Marquette.
Postgame Notes
- NMU has won its second GLIAC Tournament title in the last three seasons. It is their third overall and will be their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- Jackson Dudek was named the GLIAC Tournament MVP after averaging 15.7 points per game in the three games. Brian Parzych also made the All-Tournament team.
- Tyson Edmundson (LSSU), Hunter Soper (LSSU), Jimmy Scholler (FSU), and Marcus Tomashek (MTU) also made the All-Tournament team.
Up Next
With the automatic bid, Northern will know their NCAA Tournament opponent tonight at 11 p.m. ET when the NCAA Selection Show takes place on NCAA.com. Stay tuned to NMUwildcats.com for updates and opponent information.
