Great Lakes Wire

In their final non-conference game of the season, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team secured a decisive victory over Northland College Lumberjacks with a score of 83-37. The match took place on Saturday afternoon at Vandament Arena, bringing the Wildcats' record to 8-2.

All twelve Wildcats who dressed for the game participated, each scoring and grabbing at least one rebound. Michael McNabb led with 12 points from ten shots, while Dylan Kuehl and Jackson Dudek also reached double figures with ten points each. Eight players contributed to a season-high of 23 assists, with Derek Merwick leading by providing four.

Defensively, the Wildcats displayed a strong performance by recording a season-high of 16 steals, marking their highest since November 17, 2012. Biggie Luster excelled defensively with six steals in just 18 minutes, matching Sam Taylor's record from January 10, 2019. McNabb and Merwick each added three steals while Gerald Gittens Jr. contributed two.

The Wildcats limited Northland to shooting just 29.6% throughout the game while achieving a shooting percentage of 51.5%. Gittens Jr. started the game with an elbow jumper on the opening possession, marking his 1,000th career collegiate point.

Kuehl showcased his athleticism early in the game with a driving slam dunk and was followed by Luster's back-to-back fastbreak dunks. Kuehl added another dunk before halftime as NMU led by a commanding score of 47-16 at intermission after forcing thirteen turnovers in the first half and dominating paint scoring.

In the second half, Northern Michigan scored nine consecutive points to extend their lead to forty points at 56-16. Coach Majkrzak utilized his bench extensively during this period as Aidan Bellisle and Cooper LePage scored their first points of the season.

The Wildcats maintained control throughout without trailing once during play; their largest lead matched that of their final score margin—46 points—ending at 83-37.

Statistically speaking: NMU out-rebounded Northland College (43-30), had more assists (23 compared to NC’s ten), and significantly outperformed in steals (16-2). They also dominated in various categories such as points in paint (50-10), points off turnovers (25-2), second-chance opportunities (10-6), along with bench contributions totaling forty-five against fifteen from NC's reserves.

Looking ahead: The Wildcats will resume GLIAC play starting January when they face Davenport on January second followed by Grand Valley State on January fourth.