HOUGHTON, Mich. – In a top-20 matchup in the Upper Peninsula on Thursday night, the No. 18 Wildcats fell to the No. 12 Huskies 84-75. 

The Wildcats trailed 40-27 at halftime and by as many as 19 in the second half. A ferocious 14-2 run late closed the deficit to six with more than two minutes remaining, but the comeback effort fell short in an erratic second half. 

The final 20 minutes lacked flow, as the teams combined for 33 fouls and 53 free throw attempts. The Huskies converted when they needed to at the line to halt NMU's comeback efforts. For the game, Tech was 24-32 (75.0%) at the line while the Wildcats were 24-34 (70.6%). 

NMU did make a charge on the road against one of the best defenses in the nation, backed by Bennett Basich. He scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half to lead the rally. Dylan Kuehl led NMU with 27 in the game, while Tech's Marcus Tomashek had a game-high 35. 

The Wildcats struggled mightily from three, going 7-33 (21.2%), their second-worst output of the season. Michigan Tech was much better at 12-26 (46.2%). The Wildcats led 45-34 on the glass and 22-9 in offensive rebounds. 

The loss snaps NMU's 12-game win streak as Northern fell to 13-2, 4-1. Michigan Tech improved to 13-2, 4-1. Northern will have a chance to avenge the loss on Feb. 19  when the Huskies travel to Vandament Arena. 


How it Happened
It wasn't the start the Wildcats wanted, nor needed, as they missed their first six shots and saw the Huskies drain three of their first four shots to fall behind 9-0 less than four minutes in. Northern's first points came at the free throw line from Jackson Dudek and Charlie Miller immediately followed with a three for the first field goal. 

Tech responded with back-to-back threes to push their advantage to 15-5. The Huskies opened the game 4-5 from beyond the arc. 

The Wildcats couldn't get anything going offensively, while it was coming much easier to the home squad as they doubled up Northern 24-12 halfway through the first half. 

Northern finally put together a 7-0 run with a Dudek triple to cut the deficit to 24-17 with 7:30 to play. Back-to-back buckets in the paint from Bennett Basich and Kuehl then cut it to five at 26-21, but the Huskies closed the half with 14 of the final 20 points to lead 40-27. 

Tech's Marcus Tomashek had 18 points and started 4-4 from three. The difference was from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes, where the Huskies converted 9-17 (52.9%) and Northern managed just a 3-15 (20%) mark. Northern battled on the glass and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, eight more than Tech, but only managed two points off those second chances, while Tech had three. 

The Huskies scored six straight out of halftime to lead 46-28. The Wildcats had an aggressive mindset and got into the bonus at the 15:31 mark, but several misses at the charity stripe, along with Tech not missing a beat on offense, kept the deficit in double figures. 

Basich gave the Wildcats life, scoring 12 straight for Northern with the second half at its midway point, but the Tech offense remained in rhythm, and Northern's deficit remained in the 13-16 range. 

Needing a comeback, the game came to a screeching halt in the final eight minutes with both teams in the bonus, making it tougher to get into a rhythm offensively.  With 4:13 remaining, NMU's 8-0 run trimmed the deficit to 69-59. It then dipped into single-digits, 71-62, with 3:56 left. 

An and-one from Cal Klesmit made it 71-65 with 2:34 to play, marking a 14-2 run over 3:30 of action. 

But the 'Cats couldn't fully get over the hump, as the whistles were flying on each end of the floor. The Huskies made free throws when they needed to slam the door shut on the comeback. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will be home on Monday, Jan. 12, to take on the Ferris State Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.