WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – The Northern Michigan men's basketball team fell to the Harding Bisons 75-59 late on Saturday night at the D2 CCA Midwest Tip-Off Challenge.
The Wildcats struggled offensively, shooting 22-58 (37.9%), 6-25 (24%) from three, and 9-19 (47.4%) from the charity stripe. Harding was an even 27-54 (50%) from the floor, 6-18 (33.3%) from three-point land, and 15-19 (78.9%) at the free-throw line.
Northern hung around for the first seven minutes before an 8-0 run from Harding created some separation. Another 9-0 run on the backend of a 20-4 extended run gave the Bisons a 31-18 lead with seven minutes to go in the opening half. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 18, but scored the final five before the halftime horn to trail 40-27.
Two dunks from
Isaiah Allen helped fuel a spark in the second half as Northern trimmed its deficit to 56-49 with 10 minutes to play, but another 9-0 run from the Bisons widened the gap that the 'Cats were never able to get back within single digits.
Pryce Gregoire led NMU with 13 points while
Ross Robertson added 11 second-half points and
Kyle Olagbegi chipped in 10 more. Harding's Reggie Webster led all scorers with 24.
Up Next
The 'Cats will wrap up their weekend tomorrow when they take on Lincoln Memorial at 6 p.m. CT.