HOUGHTON -- Courtesy: MTU
The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team finished off the season sweep of arch rival Northern Michigan tonight with a 74-60 victory at the SDC Gym. The Huskies (10-3, 5-1 GLIAC) didn’t come close to putting up 109 points like they did in Marquette earlier this season, but they did manage to hold the Wildcats (6-7, 1-5 GLIAC) to 24 fewer than the 84 they allowed in the first meeting.
Tech built up a 33-20 halftime lead after a very choppy opening 20 minutes. The Huskies scored the first eight points of the game and had the lead up to 14 on Austin Armga’s tip-in at the 5:03 mark. The hosts were looking at a 15-point margin at the break, but Alex Culy was called for a foul at the buzzer on a Martin Gross halfcourt heave. Gross made two of three free throws for the 13-point gap.
Tech continued to grow the lead in the second half as it pounded the ball into the post for a dozen points there. The margin was as many as 21 before the visitors made four 3-pointers in the waning minutes to get within 12.
“We had pretty good focus on defense all game, and I was happy with our rebounding,” said head coach Kevin Luke. “We didn’t give up second chance points.
“This is a big win for us to sweep Northern and keep pace in the GLIAC race.”
Ali Haidar bounced back from a sub-par performance in his last outing to post game highs of 22 points and eight rebounds. Mike Hojnacki (12 points) and Jordan Reetz (11) also reached double figures.
Tech shot at a clip above 50 percent for the seventh time this season. The Huskies were 24-of-46 for 52 percent. The Black and Gold also used a 35-22 rebounding advantage.
NMU’s Jared Benson, who entered the game averaging 17.3 points, was held to just eight.
Michigan Tech will have a week off before returning to action. The Huskies host their other Upper Peninsula rival Lake Superior State Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC