Great Lakes Wire

Facing a formidable opponent, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team experienced its first defeat of the season against the No. 3 ranked Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragons. The Wildcats lost 82-71 at the St. Louis County Basketball Classic.

Throughout the game, Northern Michigan managed to keep the score close, even taking a brief lead in the first half and tying the score four times. However, each time they closed in, Moorhead responded effectively and maintained control.

The Dragons displayed efficiency by shooting 56.6% from the floor compared to Northern's 40.3%. Moorhead's dominance was evident in their rebounding advantage of 39-24 and outscoring Northern in points in the paint with a 40-32 margin, including a significant 26-10 lead in the first half.

Northern Michigan showcased a balanced offensive strategy with Julien Smith and Dylan Kuehl both scoring 16 points. Sam Privet and Gerald Gittens Jr. added twelve points each. For Moorhead, Logan Kinsey led all scorers with 22 points while Jacob Beeninga contributed 21.

The game began energetically on Friday evening in Duluth, with an early connection between Biggie Luster and Jackson Dudek giving Northern its initial lead at 13-12 within five minutes. However, Moorhead responded with a 9-0 run and succeeded on ten of their first fourteen shots. NMU countered with a 10-0 run highlighted by Kuehl's slam dunk to take a brief lead at 25-24.

Moorhead then executed additional runs of 5-0 and 6-0 to secure a halftime lead of 46-38, shooting an impressive 67.9% during this period compared to Northern's efficient free throw performance at 92.3%.

In the second half, Brian Parych's inside play and Smith's three-pointer helped narrow Moorhead’s lead to six points early on. A subsequent NMU run brought them within two points at one stage; however, Moorhead quickly reestablished their advantage through successive scoring bursts.

Despite Northern’s continued efforts bringing them within six points late in the game, Moorhead capitalized on free throws down the stretch to seal their victory.

Next up for Northern Michigan is another challenging matchup against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at their home court.