MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan men's basketball team jumped out to a 40-23 halftime lead behind strong defensive efforts en route to a 85-72 victory over the Grand Valley State Lakers in the GLIAC Semifinals. The Wildcats will now face No. 1 Michigan Tech on the road on Saturday, March 8 at noon.
With a blizzard warning outside, the Wildcats created a defensive warning of their own in the first half, holding Grand Valley to just 23 points on 7-28 (25.0%) shooting. Northern had the hand warmers ready to go from the start, shooting a much better 16-27 (59.3%) in the first half to build a 40-23 lead at the break.
Five Wildcats found double figures, led by
Jackson Dudek with 17 points on 7-9 (77.8%) shooting.
Brian Parzych was an all-around hazard to the Lakers, scoring 14 points on 5-6 (83.3%) shooting, which included 4-5 from three. He also added a game-high five assists to go along with three rebounds, two steals, and a block.
Julien Smith added 13 while
Sam Privet and Gerald Gittens each contributed 11 points.
GVSU's Kaden Brown led all scorers with 23 points while William Dunn pulled down 10 rebounds.
Overall, Northern shot 30-51 (58.8%), its best percentage on the season. They were 13-27 (48.1%) from three, which tied a season-best, but just 12-29 (41.4%) at the free throw line. Grand Valley shot 25-63 (39.7%) and 11-28 (39.3%) from beyond the arc.
The win was the 20th of the season, hitting that mark for three straight years for the first time in program history.
With each of the home teams winning on Wednesday, the Wildcats will now head to Michigan Tech to play the Huskies in the first semifinal game on Saturday, March 8 at noon. No, 2 Lake Superior State and No. 3 Ferris State will follow.
How it Happened
Privet knocked down a three in the opening minute and the Wildcats opened up a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game. Soon after,
Cal Klesmit and Parzych came off the bench and made an immediate impact, combining for three triples to help push NMU's lead to 19-8 at 12:24.
Dudek banked in a three from the top of the key as the 'Cats maintained its double-digit advantage at 28-12 with 7:30 left in the first half. In the final five minutes, Privet denied a block attempt at the rim that fueled a 7-0 run at the other end to give the 'Cats its largest lead of the first half at 35-14.
Northern led 40-23 at the break, going 16-27 from the field. Dudek could not miss, scoring 14 points on a perfect 6-6. NMU had three runs of six points or greater in the half while the Lakers had zero.
Dudek hit yet another three to open the second half as he was 7-7 from the field at the time. Another three from Parzych gave Northern its largest lead of the game, 60-36, with 12 minutes remaining.
The Lakers cut their deficit to 13 twice down the stretch, with Trevon Gunter hitting three straight threes to make it 65-52, but Smith had the important run-stopper for the Green and Gold, hitting a three of his own to halt the momentum.
With GVSU closing the gap to 13 again in the final five minutes, Parzych took over in his final home game, recording two threes, a block, and a beautiful assist in less than two minutes to put the game on ice.
Up Next
With all four home teams victorious, Northern will now head to Michigan Tech to play the Huskies on Saturday, March 8 at noon. No, 2 Lake Superior State and No. 3 Ferris State will follow, with the winners of each game meeting in Sunday's championship tilt.
