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SATURDAY'S GAME RECAP
 

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Finding their spark in the second half, the Huskies outlasted Saginaw Valley State in men's basketball 65-62 Saturday afternoon at SDC Gymnasium in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. Michigan Tech tallied a weekend sweep over the Cardinals after turning the momentum of the game and improved to 8-3 overall.  Tech attempted 32 shots from the 3-point line, connected on 12, and limited turnovers to 13 in the game. 

"There is no question that this was a tail of two halves," said head coach Kevin Luke. "We missed a lot of good open shots in the first half and we weren't as intense defensively to start as we were yesterday. Our second half was much more fluid. We made some shots, took care of the basketball, and were very good defensively." 

Owen White led the way on offense with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double this season. Eric Carl also pitched in 17 points and Dawson Bilski finished with 14 points.

However, it was Carter Johnston who may have made the biggest contribution as he helped turn the tide back in the Huskies favor with his strong play early in the second half. Johnston finished with six points and added four steals, six assists, and four rebounds.

Saginaw Valley grabbed the upper hand early with a 15-5 run to start the game. The Huskies struggled from the field and made just 29-percent of shots taken in the opening 20 minutes. Meanwhile, SVSU shot 38.9-percent and 41-percent from beyond the arc to lead 34-22 at halftime.

After the break, Carl and Bilski wasted little time downing back-to-back three pointers in the same corner to get the Huskies back to a 4-point margin 40-36. Then Carter Johnston snagged a pair of steals and Tech cashed in on the extra possessions to take the lead back 50-49 with 7:49 left to play, including a nifty reverse by Johnston. 

"We have a lot of guys that can be our leading scorer on any given day, but I felt that it was Carter's effort to start the second half that really gave us that energy required to start locking down defensively," Luke said. "The things he did to force turnovers are the types of things that take an average team and makes them great."

Michigan Tech extended its advantage to six but Cardinals leading scorer Darnell Hoskins Jr. remained lethal as the teams headed into the final minute separated by just a point.

Both White and Bilski pulled down two crucial rebounds. Bilski dove on defense. Then White hauled in his own rebounds and immediately went back up for the lay in. Bilski subsequently forced a steal to seal the win 65-62.

The Huskies shot 20-for-50 (40-percent) overall and 12-for-32 (37.5-percent) from 3-point range, including eight makes in the second half. Carl made 5 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc and shot 6-for-11 overall.

Michigan Tech collected 31 rebounds, compared to 38 for Saginaw Valley State. Both teams made moderately frequent trips to the free throw line and MTU went 13-for-18 (72.2-percent). SVSU finished 9 of 10 (90-percent) from the stripe.

Hoskins Jr. led the Cardinals with 20 points (7-for-14) and four 3-pointers. Tre Garrett amassed 10 rebounds and seven points in 26 minutes off the bench and Delano Smith nearly missed a double-double with nine points, nine boards.

Saginaw Valley State shot 38.3-percent (23-for-60) in the game and 38.9-percent from downtown. Michigan Tech outscored SVSU 43-28 in the second half. 

The Huskies (8-3, 8-3 GLIAC) continue the regular season with two games at Davenport beginning Friday, February 12 at 5 p.m. They currently have sole possession of first place in the North Division. The Cardinals (2-8, 2-8) dropped their fourth straight road game and return home to host Ferris State next weekend.

FRIDAY GAME RECAP

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Eric Carl posted a career high 24 points to help Michigan Tech over Saginaw Valley State 76-57 in GLIAC men's basketball Friday afternoon at SDC Gymnasium.

The Huskies broke loose of their recent shooting woes and went 30-for-48 (62.5-percent) from the field to bounce back from a pair of defeats last weekend. Carl connected on 8 of 10 shot attempts with five three pointers on seven tries. The Huskies (7-3) scored in transition and passed the basketball fluidly on offense.

"It was a great win for us," commented head coach Kevin Luke. "I'm really happy for our guys because of how tough last week was for our group. They responded as well as any team could. It started with a good week of practice and in the game, it looked as if we never missed a beat. We executed our game plan and we did a tremendous job defensively all night long." 

The Huskies opened the game with a 13-2 run, capped by 3-pointers in both corners by Carl and Dawson Bilski. SVSU struck back and narrowed the margin to five before Bilski and Carl again knocked down triples to keep Tech ahead at halftime 33-28. The team shot 54-percent with seven made three pointers through 20 minutes.

"Eric is an up and coming solid player in this league and we know that when we have three, four, five players in double-figures, we are a really difficult team to play against," Luke said.

The Cardinals hung around and kept scoreboard pressure on the Huskies to the mid-way point of the second half. After closing in on a single possession game again at 50-46, Owen White jump hooked a pair of mid-range baskets off the glass to help MTU pull away. 

Michigan Tech shot 52-percent (13-for-25) from long range and Carl went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Bilski finished with 21 points, three assists, and three rebounds. He was an efficient 8-for-13 (5-for-8 from 3-point range).  White, the Huskies leading scorer, added 19 points and eight rebounds and shot 8-for-13. Carter Johnston distributed five assists and Trent Bell quietly posted eight points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Three players notched double-figure point totals in the losing effort for Saginaw Valley State. Darnell Hoskins Jr. led the Cardinals with 19 points (6-for-13). Myles Belyeu put up 14 points and four rebounds, and Delano Smith finished with 12 points. SVSU struggled offensively in the first half but gradually made-up ground and shot 21-for-53 (39.6-percent) overall. Fouls slowed the run and gun style of the first half and were more frequently issued to both sides in the second, though neither team faced significant foul trouble. Michigan Tech shot 3 of 4 from the free throw line and SVSU connected on 8 of 15 attempts (53.3-percent).

Michigan Tech thoroughly out-rebounded Saginaw Valley State 31-23. Bell and White pulled down the most with 11 and 8 rebounds respectively. Turnovers favored the Cardinals 17-12.

Michigan Tech (7-3) again plays Saginaw Valley State (2-8) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at SDC Gymnasium before traveling to Davenport next week. The Huskies limited an opponent to 60 points or less for the sixth time this season.