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HAMMOND, Ind. - The Northern Michigan University Men's basketball team dominated from start to finish on Saturday (Feb. 5), taking a 87-69 victory at Purdue Northwest. 

NMU improved to 10-11 and 6-8 in the GLIAC with Saturday's win.

STAT LEADERS

• Nick Wagner led the way with 21 points, connecting on five triples. 
• Justin Brookens added 14 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. 
• Eleven Wildcats entered the scoring book. 
• NMU shot 29-70 (41.4%).

FIRST HALF
John Kerr recorded the first scratch of the afternoon for the Wildcats, on a nice feed from Justin Brookens. 

Attacking the offensive glass, the 'Cats got an early second-chance opportunity and Nick Wagner nailed a corner triple for an early 5-2 lead. 

Nick Wagner connected on his second from downtown minutes later, pushing the lead to 12-2 'Cats and a PNW timeout. 

The Wildcats continued to go through Wagner, who connected on three straight triples on consecutive trips down the floor, giving him a quick 15 points and a 27-7 NMU advantage. 

The Pride responded with a run themselves before a Justin Kuehl triple pushed the lead back to 32-14.

With seven minutes to go, Ben Wolf attacked the offensive glass and put home a one-handed dunk on the rebound to maintain a 36-18 edge. 

For the second time in the opening half, the Pride responded with seven straight to keep the game close at 36-25. 

Justin Brookens capped off a hot first half for the Wildcats by knocking down a three in the closing seconds. The WIldcats took a 41-26 lead to the locker room. Nick Wagner paced all scorers with 15 points on five triples.

The 'Cats shot 15-36 (41.7%) from the floor in the first half of action. 

Justin Brookens stuffed the stat sheet, recording nine points, six assists, and five rebounds in the first half. 


SECOND HALF
After five threes in the first half, Nick Wagner got his first two-point field goal to start the second. 

The Pride closed the gap to ten points five minutes into the half, but the 'Cats responded with a quick five points to stretch it back to 15. 

Brain Parzych got a quick nine points, scoring on all three levels. Parzych hit a two-pointer, followed by a triple and then later a trip to the charity stripe where he knocked down a pair. He wouldn't stop there, getting another bucket to go and giving NMU a 58-39 lead at the under 12 minute media timeout. 

Sam Schultz kept things rolling for Northern, taking a baseline dribble and connecting on the up-and-under with the left hand. Schultz was fouled and made due of the opportunity for an old-fashioned three-point play. 

Schultz then got into double figures, tipping in his own miss for ten points. That would lead to a Pride timeout at 68-43 'Cats. 

The Wildcats did not slow down as the half went on, getting contributions from everyone. With 7:29 to go, NMU grabbed their largest lead of the night at 77-50. 

Northern stayed strong down the stretch, securing a 87-69 road victory over Purdue Northwest. 


UP NEXT
The Wildcats will be back on the road next weekend to take on Grand Valley on Thursday (Feb. 10) and Davenport on Saturday (Feb. 12).