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NMU Men's Basketball Wins On Road; Women Fall
 Click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from NMU Men's Coach Matt Majkrzak, Player of the Game Nick Wagner, Women's Coach Troy Mattson, and Player Spotlight Interviews with Brooke Kriegl and Sam Schultz. (Photos from Purdue Northwest) MEN’S GAME RECAP HAMMOND, Ind. - The Northern Michigan University Men's basketball team dominated from start to finish on Saturday (Feb. 5), taking a 87-69 victory at Purdue Northwest. NMU improved to 10-11 and 6-8 in the GLIAC with Saturday's win. Nick Wagner led the way with 21 points, connecting on five triples. Justin Brookens added 14 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. Eleven Wildcats entered the scoring book.  Caleb Zurliene led PNW with 16 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. The sophomore went 5 of 7 from the field and 5 for 6 at the free-throw line. It was his second career double-double. Sangolay Njie (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Piotr Gago (Chicago, Ill./Taft) scored 10 points including a two-handed slam in the first half. After grbbing an early lead, the Wildcats continued to go through Nick Wagner, who connected on three straight triples on consecutive trips down the floor, giving him a quick 15 points and a 27-7 NMU advantage. The Pride responded with a run themselves before a Justin Kuehl triple pushed the lead back to 32-14. With seven minutes to go, Ben Wolf attacked the offensive glass and put home a one-handed dunk on the rebound to maintain a 36-18 edge. For the second time in the opening half, the Pride responded with seven straight to keep the game close at 36-25. Justin Brookens capped off a hot first half for the Wildcats by knocking down a three in the closing seconds. The WIldcats took a 41-26 lead to the locker room. Nick Wagner paced all scorers with 15 points on five triples. The 'Cats shot 15-36 (41.7%) from the floor in the first half of action. Justin Brookens stuffed the stat sheet, recording nine points, six assists, and five rebounds in the first half. After five threes in the first half, Nick Wagner got his first two-point field goal to start the second. The Pride closed the gap to ten points five minutes into the half, but the 'Cats responded with a quick five points to stretch it back to 15. Brain Parzych got a quick nine points, scoring on all three levels. Parzych hit a two-pointer, followed by a triple and then later a trip to the charity stripe where he knocked down a pair. He wouldn't stop there, getting another bucket to go and giving NMU a 58-39 lead at the under 12 minute media timeout. Sam Schultz kept things rolling for Northern, taking a baseline dribble and connecting on the up-and-under with the left hand. Schultz was fouled and made due of the opportunity for an old-fashioned three-point play. Schultz then got into double figures, tipping in his own miss for ten points. That would lead to a Pride timeout at 68-43 'Cats. The Wildcats did not slow down as the half went on, getting contributions from everyone. With 7:29 to go, NMU grabbed their largest lead of the night at 77-50. WOMEN’S GAME RECAP HAMMOND, Ind.- The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team continued GLIAC conference play Saturday, Fab. 5 against Purdue Northwest University. A late push from the Pride was too much for the Wildcats as they dropped a Saturday matchup in the final seconds, 53-52. Trailing 52-46 with under a minute, Kennedy Jackson (Carson, Calif./Redondo Union) quickly drained a three and the PNW defense stepped up in a big way to force a turnover. Dash Shaw (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) was fouled with 21 seconds to go and she drained both ends of the bonus to cut the Wildcats' lead down to 52-51. Another foul by the Wildcats with 13 seconds left sent Shaw back to the line for a chance to win it for her team. The sophomore guard stepped to the line with ice in her veins and calmly knocked down both free throws to give the Pride the victory. NMU had led pretty much the while way. Kayla Tierney started the second quarter with a three off a pass from Makaylee Kuhn, pushing the lead to 27-16. The three's continued for NMU, as Elizabeth Lutz found herself all alone, knocking down a shot from way downtown. Ana Rhude stood tall in the final seconds of the second quarter, blocking a Pride offensive opportunity. NMU carried their momentum into the half with a score of 32-26. The Pride came out strong to start the third, climbing back into the lead, making it 34-32 with just over six minutes to play. Northerns shooting woes continued until Elizabeth Lutz found herself at the line, putting both in from the free throw line. Pride led 36-34. Taya Stevenson knocked one in from behind the three, bringing the Pride's lead to within one. Stevenson followed up the three with a lay-up, taking back the lead for NMU. After a short commercial timeout, action picked back up, Stevenson found some good mojo, knocking down another three from behind the arc, 'Cats led 44-38 with just under 30 seconds to play. Both teams started out slow to begin the fourth quarter, but PNW started to fight back, as the Pride knocked down a three pointer, 'Cats led 49-44 with just under five to play. Makaylee Kuhn found herself a ticket to the free throw line, knocking down back to back shots, pushing the Wildcats lead to 51-46. With 45 seconds left to play, head coach Troy Mattson called a short timeout, setting up a late offensive play to carry out the win. The Pride answered back with just over 30 seconds to play, knocking down a three pointer to bring NMU's lead to only three, 'Cats led 52-49 with 32 seconds to play. PNW found their way to the free throw line, putting both in to bring the match to within one. NMU led 52-51 with 18 seconds to play. NMU was called on a foul, giving the Pride another chance at the free throw line, knocking down both to take the lead 53-52. Jackson led all PNW scorers with a career-best 12 points, along with three rebounds and three assists. Shaw chipped in with 11 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Makaylee Kuhn pushed the 'Cats with 12 points in 20 minutes of play. Kuhn shot 57-percent from the field. Ana Rhude paced the Wildcats with a team high six rebounds. Rhude tallied a total 24 minutes in the game. Taya Stevenson was a force behind the arc, shooting 66.7-percent from downtown. |
