MARQUETTE, Mich. - Highlighted by several dunks and six in total, Dylan Kuehl had a career-performance on Saturday at the PEIF Gym. He dropped a career high 30 points, added 10 rebounds, and a career-best six blocks to lead Northern Michigan to a 71-56 victory over Saginaw Valley State, making it one of best all-around performances in school history. 

Twenty-one of Kuehl's 30 came in the second half as NMU outscored the Cardinals 36-25 in the final 20 minutes to pull away. 

Carson Smith added 14 points and Max Weisbrod chipped in another 11. Sam Schultz also reached double figures on the glass with 10 boards. The Wildcats dominated the helping hand, dishing out 19 assists to just four from SVSU. Weisbrod and Brian Parzych each led the way with five. 

The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, and held a largest lead of 16 late in the second half. NMU shot 27-62 (43.5%) from the field and 10-25 (40.0%) from three. SVSU had a similar output from the field, going 23-61 (37.7%), but were held to just a 3-18 (16.7%) from deep. 

With the victory, the 'Cats improve to 7-5 overall and 2-0 atop the GLIAC. SVSU drops to 5-3 on the season with a 1-1 conference record. 


How it Happened
After a bit of a slow start for each team offensively, the threes started to rain in after the sides got loose. Carson Smith opened up the scoring from deep for NMU, with Max Weisbrod adding a step-in triple to lead 6-0. SVSU hit their first basket nearing four minutes in, also a three ball. 

Kuehl added an old-fashioned three-point play out of the first media timeout. It took five and a half minutes before the first two-point trip down the floor, courtesy of the Cardinals. The Wildcats followed that with a textbook sequence, reading Brian Parzych triple, Kuehl block, and a Sam Privet putback to double-up SVSU 14-7 with 12 minutes on the clock. NMU scored the next five out of the media timeout, totaling a 10-0 run, pushing a 9-7 lead to a 19-7 advantage. 

SVSU responded with 12 of the next 14, quickly closing the gap to two. Just as he got them started, Smith drained a three to halt the run. Back-to-back slams from Kuehl helped curb the SVSU momentum, as NMU carried a 35-31 lead going into halftime. 

A 6-0 Carindals run early in the second half tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. In a game that they didn't trail, NMU responded to SVSU tying it up, scoring the next seven. The 'Cats led 44-37 wtih 15 minutes left in the game.

With the teams exchanging blows over the next five minutes, a putback dunk from Kuehl, a Parzych three, and a second putback slam via Kuehl gave NMU its largest lead of the second half, 55-46, with 7:37 to go. 

The dunks kept coming for Kuehl, as he extended NMU's lead to double digits out of the timeout. The Green and Gold continued to roll, with Smith and Kuehl hitting threes, followed by another, you guessed it, Kuehl dunk. NMU held its biggest lead of the night at 16, 65-49, at the five-minute mark. 

The rest of the way was decorated with Green and Gold, as the Wildcats cruised to a 71-56 win. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will take on Northwood in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, December 19th at 3 p.m. in the PEIF Gym.