LUBBOCK, Texas  - Up 42-39 at halftime, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team started the second half on a 11-2 run and outscored the Lubbock Christian Chaps 41-30 in the half to secure a 83-69 victory in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic finale. 

Max Weisbrod scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, backed by a 4-8 shooting performance from downtown on the evening. Freshman Riley Brooks also went 4-8 from beyond the arc for 12 points, while Dylan Kuehl added 13 and Brian Parzych another 12. 

Sam Schultz dominated on the glass for the second straight game and recorded his second double-double in as many outings with 10 points and 11 boards. 

It wasn't easy sledding for the Green and Gold early on, as LCU had the hot hand from deep to open the contest. Ten minutes into play, the Chaps were 6-8 from downtown and led 23-17. Northern scored the next seven points to take its first lead at 24-23 with 7:41 left in the opening half of action. 

The sides would exchange turns with the lead as the half was coming to a close, but the 'Cats had the final five of the half, including a Weisbrod triple, to hold a slim 42-39 edge heading into halftime. 

Weisbrod started the second half how he ended the first, connecting from deep. That triple was the start of a 11-2 run to open the second half as the Wildcats quickly extended the gap to double digits at 53-41 with 15:11 to play. 

Up 15 with 13 minutes left, the Chaps would counter with a short 6-0 spurt to make it a single-digit game. Yet again, Weisbrod came up clutch, halting the run with another three. LCU would take to the free-throw line to try to get back into it, but the Wildcats had an answer each time from different levels of scoring. 

NMU held its largest lead of the game at 83-67 before Lubbock Christian got a basket on its final possession of the game. 

Each team fared well from the field, with NMU going 27-56 (48.2%) and LCU going 25-53 (47.2%). NMU made its difference at the free-throw line, going 20-27 to LCU's 11-22. The Wildcats also controlled the glass in the contest, outrebounding the Chaps 41-26 including an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 15-5 margin in second chance points, in favor of the 'Cats. 


Up Next
The Green and Gold will play host to the JustAgame Crossover in Wisconsin Dells. NMU will match up with Upper Iowa on Saturday, November 11 and Missouri S&T on Sunday, November 12. Michigan Tech will also take part in the tournament.