ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Northern Michigan University men's basketball team was in central Minnesota for a Saturday matchup at St. Cloud State, where they came up just short in a 76-69 defeat. 

Max Bjorklund led all scorers with 28 points on the afternoon, but NMU shot just 35% from the floor and 27.3% from the three. SCSU was able to put the game away at the free throw line, where they went 24-27 (88.9%). 

The Wildcats are now 4-2 on the season heading into a contest at Minnesota Duluth tomorrow afternoon. 


First Half
The Wildcats' offense had it going from deep early, seeing a pair of triples from Max Bjorklund and another from Carson Smith for an early 11-8 lead with 13:50 on the clock. 

The Huskies got it going the next few minutes, outscoring NMU 15-7 before the media timeout at 9:01, with SCSU in front 23-18. 

Sam Privet came in and produced off the bench for the Wildcats, scoring five in a row out a break to even it up at 23 all with under 8 minutes to go. 

Max Bjorklund turned it up another notch after NMU went behind, scoring 14 points in a 5-minute stretch as the half was winding down, accumulating a total of 20, as the Wildcats were ahead 41-38 at the break.

Each side shot 14-24 (41.2%) from the floor in the opening half. 


Second Half
Bjorklund kept it going out of the break, producing a quick five points as the Wildcats held on to a 46-41 edge. 

After being up five at 53-48, St. Cloud State went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead. Neither side was able to go up more than two possessions as the teams continued to exchange their time ahead. A few possessions later, Max Weisbrod connected on a triple to pull it even at 56-56 with 9:03 to go. 

With 2:53 to go, the Huskies gained their largest lead of the afternoon, leading Northern 69-62. 

After the Wildcats pulled with a possession at 69-66, a tough blocking call with 0:32 to go presented the Huskies with a chance to go up five form the charity stripe, which they converted. 

SCSU was efficient from the line down the stretch, preventing a Wildcats comeback. NMU fell 76-69. 


Postgame Notes

• Max Bjorklund paced the Green and Gold with 28 points with an 11-14 clip from the free-throw line. 
• Brian Parzych added 11 points. 
• As a team, the Wildcats shot 21-60 (35%) from the floor while the Huskies shot 23-58 (39.7%). 
• From the three, NMU was cooled to a 9-33 (27.3%) clip while SCSU was 6-18 (33.3%). 
• Carson Smith led the team with 9 rebounds while Max Weisbrod dished out 4 assists. 

Up Next
The Wildcats will be at Minnesota Duluth tomorrow, November 27,  for a 2 p.m. afternoon matchup with the Bulldogs.