Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan men's basketball team concluded their season with a loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies, 87-72, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game took place on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Illinois.

Dylan Kuehl led the Wildcats with 20 points and nine rebounds. Brian Parzych contributed 13 points, while Cal Klesmit added 10 off the bench. Parzych and Klesmit combined for 20 points during a crucial stretch in the second half. For Michigan Tech, Marcus Tomashek and Pete Calcaterra each scored 22 points.

Northern Michigan shot 43.3% from the field and had a strong performance from beyond the arc at 47.6%, including a second-half showing of 58.3%. However, Michigan Tech shot 50.8% overall with an impressive second-half percentage of 61.5%.

Despite leading in rebounds with a count of 38-31, NMU committed six more turnovers than their opponents and did not record any steals for the first time this season. The Huskies capitalized on these errors with a significant scoring advantage of 16-1 in points off turnovers.

The Wildcats finished their season with a record of 22-10, marking their third consecutive season reaching at least 20 wins and securing a GLIAC championship title.

Michigan Tech will advance to face either Lake Superior State or Lincoln in the Round of 32 on Sunday.

In detailing how events unfolded: Jackson Dudek opened scoring for NMU with a layup followed by Sam Privet's three-pointer. However, Tomashek's early triples helped give Tech an early lead which they maintained throughout much of the game.

Parzych provided momentum off the bench but Tech's consistent shooting kept them ahead. A brief run by NMU cut into Tech’s lead before halftime but was quickly countered by another surge from Tech to lead by double digits at halftime.

Kuehl started strong after halftime reducing NMU’s deficit to nine points but another run by Tech widened it again to as much as nineteen points midway through the second half.

Despite efforts from Klesmit who scored all his ten points within six minutes alongside contributions from Parzych and Biggie Luster hitting shots from deep range; consistent scoring by Michigan Tech proved too much for NMU’s comeback attempts late into regulation time.

A late layup by Parzych reduced NMU’s deficit briefly yet subsequent scores by Michigan sealed their victory until Michael McNabb made one last basket for NMU just before time expired.