MARQUETTE, Mich. – The No. 16 Northern Michigan Wildcats put on an offensive showcase Thursday night, riding a three-headed attack to another statement win at Vandament Arena.

Dylan Kuehl poured in 32 points, Cal Klesmit followed with 24, and Bennett Basich chipped in another 14 as the trio combined for 70 of Northern's 83 points as the Wildcats secured their 20th victory of the season. 

Kuehl's 32 came on 14-19 (73.7%) shooting, with 21 coming in the first half. He added a team-high eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocks to continue his all-around dominance this season. 

Klesmit poured in 15 of his 24 in the second half. He was as efficient as you'll see from beyond the arc, knocking down seven of his eight attempts while going 8-9 overall. Basich scored 14 points, shooting 5-8 from the floor, to go along with five rebounds and a pair of helpers. 

The Wildcats shot 30-48 (62.5%) for the game, their third-best shooting performance of the season. NMU was 9-18 (50.0%) from three and 14-17 (82.4%) from the free throw line, while the Cardinals struggled at the charity stripe, going 6-18 (33.3%). While committing one more turnover at 13-12, NMU took better advantage of its opportunities, edging SVSU 18-11 in points off turnovers. 

Northern only trailed 3-0 and built a double-digit lead in the back half of the opening 20 minutes after a 7-0 run. The 'Cats then extended that lead to 22, its highest of the game, with a 12-2 run out of halftime to take the wind out of SVSU's sails. 

Northern is now 20-3 overall and 11-2 in conference play, maintaining pace with Grand Valley State, which also won on Thursday night over Purdue Northwest. 


How it Happened
Northern settled in quickly after Saginaw Valley State opened the scoring on a second-chance three, as Dylan Kuehl answered with the Wildcats' first points of the night. The early minutes were tightly contested, with NMU holding a slim 9-8 edge at the first media timeout. From there, Kuehl began to assert himself, scoring five straight baskets and piling up a quick 12 points as Northern pushed ahead 17-12 at the 11:20 mark.

Cal Klesmit then picked up where Kuehl left off, slicing through the defense for a finger-roll floater before knocking down a three to extend the lead to 22-14. Bennett Basich followed with a triple of his own as the Wildcats reached double figures at 27-17 with seven minutes remaining in the half. Klesmit stayed hot with another three, Jackson Dudek added one from deep, and Northern carried a 41-29 advantage into halftime. 

Kuehl was dominant in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 19 points on 9-12 shooting. NMU shot an efficient 16-25 (64.0%) in the half but was kept from pulling away further by eight turnovers.

Northern wasted little time extending the margin after the break. Klesmit buried a three to open the half in what was just a sign of things to come. That sparked a 6-0 run, and he followed with two more triples to cap another 6-0 surge and stretch the lead to 53-31 just four minutes in. 

Saginaw Valley responded with a 9-2 run to trim the deficit, but Klesmit continued to torch the nets, drilling his fourth three of the half to make it 67-46 at the midway point.

Dudek punctuated the stretch with a baseline cut and emphatic dunk as the Wildcats maintained control at 69-50 with six minutes to play. The Cardinals made one final push with a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 14, but Kuehl halted the momentum with an and-one finish. 

Klesmit put an exclamation point on the night with a dagger three in the final minute, his seventh of the game, and fifth of the half, to seal the Wildcats' commanding performance.


Up Next
The Wildcats will look to move to 10-0 at home on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. when they welcome the Lake Superior State Lakers.