MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Men's Basketball Team for Northern Michigan University will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to take part in the Gary Miller Classic hosted by Gannon University.
The weekend begins with the Wildcats taking on St. Rose University at 5:30 Friday evening. On Saturday, NMU will take on either Gannon or West Virigina Wesleyan University based on their results Friday night.
All games will have video and live stats available.
Follow @NMU_Wildcats for continued updates throughout the weekend.
GAME NOTES
Balanced offense: The Wildcats feature five players averaging double-figures, led by junior Isaiah Johnson, (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) who is averaging 17.8 points per game. Junior Naba Echols (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) is at 15.5 points a game. Sophomore Will Carius (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley), 12.8, senior Eddie Tornes (Muskegon, Mich./Cumberland CC), 12.3, and sophomore Sam Taylor (Chicago, Ill./Thornton), 11.8 round out the leading scorers.
Howard's block party: Sophomore Myles Howard (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) is tied for third in the GLIAC with six blocked shots. He swatted three shots against University of Parkside for a season high.
Getting steals: Taylor leads the Wildcats with eight steals this season. Johnson has added seven with Howard chipping in with six. As a team, the squad is averaging over seven steals a game, posting 29 on the season.
More assists/less turnovers: This year's team has recorded 56 assists to their opponents 52. They have also reduced their turnovers as they have just 44 turnovers as opposed to their opponent, who have been forced into 47 turnovers.
Last time out: NMU took on Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Southwest Minnesota State University at the Microtel Classic hosted by Moorhead. Despite two losses, the Wildcats stayed competitive with two teams that gave NMU losses last season. Friday against MSU-Moorhead, NMU tied the game at 54-54 with just over 11 minutes to go, but the hosts got hot and went on a 13-2 run to pull away. Against SMSU, the game saw 12 ties throughout, but an unfortunate 8-0 run late in the second half by the Mustangs proved too much to overcome.
NMU versus St. Rose: Friday's contest will be the first matchup between the Wildcats and the Knights. St. Rose enters the game at 5-1 on the season and are averaging 70 points a game.
NMU versus Gannon: In 15 matchups, NMU holds an 8-7 advantage but have dropped the last two games. The last time the Wildcats took on Gannon came in the 2010-11 season. Among their 15 games, NMU has outscored the Golden Knights by just seven points, holding a 1,098-1,091 advantage. Gannon enters the Classic 2-2 and are coming off an 80-48 victory over Cheyney University and a 52-44 loss at West Chester University.
NMU versus West Virginia Wesleyan: If the teams play Saturday, it will be their first-ever contest. The Bobcats enter the weekend at 0-4, and most recently fell to West Liberty University 111-81.
