UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - Playing in one of the toughest venues in the GLIAC, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team (20-7, 13-2) never trailed and pulled out a big 79-75 victory at Saginaw Valley State (13-12, 6-10) on Thursday night.
The Cardinals were coming in at 10-3 at home, but the Wildcats did something no other team has been able to do at O'Neill Arena this season and that is never trail. Despite the back-and-forth affair, the Wildcats did not face a deficit in the contest.
It was a balanced attack for the Green and Gold with four scoring at least 15 points. After 30 points against the Cardinals back in December,
Dylan Kuehl once again led the way with 21 points on 7-12 shooting.
Carson Smith was right behind with 19,
Brian Parzych added 17, and
Riley Brooks chipped in 15 more.
The offenses started slow, with each team connecting on just three of its first 10 shots. Once the clock rounded 12 minutes to go in the opening half, the Wildcats went on a historic stretch, making 13-15 (86.7%) to end the half including a perfect 12-12 stretch from 11:45 to 2:22. You read that right, the Wildcats did not miss a shot from the floor in nearly a 10 minute stretch. NMU would lead by as many as 18 in the first half and led 46-32 at the break.
The Cardinals went on a 10-0 run very early in the second half to erase the sizeable gap and make it 48-42 with seven minutes to play. Saginaw closed it to four three times and finally made it a one-possession game on a three with two minutes left.
For the first time since the scoreboard read 0-0, the game was tied after a Maurice Anderson triple made it 73-73 with 41 seconds to go.
Carson Smith chose heroics from there, connecting on a running jumper with 26 seconds left to take the lead. He then pulled down the defensive rebound on the other end and converted 2-2 at the charity stripe to go up by four.
Riley Brooks would also go 2-2 at the line in the closing seconds to help secure the victory.
Each side got up 55 shots on the night, with NMU hitting 26 and SVSU connecting on 27. Each team pulled down 33 rebounds and many stats across the box score teetered as close to even as it can get. NMU's two more triples (8 to 6) may have been the difference, with both Parzych and Brooks hitting three apiece.
Race for the Regular Season Title
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 20-7 and 13-2 in the GLIAC. The Lake Superior State Lakers were victorious at Davenport on Thursday night, and they now hold a 11-4 conference record. With a Ferris State loss at GVSU and just four games to play, the GLIAC regular season championship race has come down to a pair of UP schools: Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State.
Up Next
Northern will look to close out the final road game of the regular season with a victory on Saturday, February 24 at Wayne State. Opening tip is scheduled for 3 p.m.
