Tech had mixed results this week at home
The Huskies had a split week in a home game against the Parkside Rangers on Feb. 26. The men’s game, starting at 7:30 p.m., was victorious, scoring 68-65 while the women’s team, at 5:30 p.m., battled an offensive night and suffered a 61-46 loss. Michigan Tech returned to action Feb. 28 against the Roosevelt Lakers playing both the women’s and men’s at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively. The women’s team won 70-51 and the men’s team scored 99-72.
In the women’s matchup on Thursday, the Huskies (15-12, 9-10 GLIAC) hit only two 3-pointers in 15 attempts and shot 1-of-12 in the third quarter. Parkside (14-13, 9-10 GLIAC) connected on eight 3-pointers and shot 35.7 percent from the field. Ella Mason led the Huskies with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, while Alyssa Wypych added ten points despite picking up four fouls. Kloe Zentkowski led on the backboard with eight rebounds. In the women’s matchup on Saturday, the Huskies commanded the court with strong shooting accuracy, scoring 45 points in the first half alone while sinking 62 percent of shots attempted during the first 20 minutes. They continued to keep up the pressure later on, maintaining a significant lead over the Lakers throughout the entire game. Three players achieved double-digit overall individual scores, including Wypych with 19 points, Soraya Timms with 16, and Kendall Standfest with 11.
“Obviously, a rough offensive night, again.” said Michigan Tech Head Coach Sam Clayton during the Thursday postgame conference. “We defended them pretty well to hold them to 61. They’re a good offensive team. We’ve got to find a way to get into rhythm offensively and create some easier shots. We’re not taking advantage of mismatches.” For Saturday’s post game conference, Clayton remarked the team “Just totally flipped it from Thursday, which was great to see.” The Head Coach emphasized that “every single player off our bench and starter, everyone came ready to go. They executed. They had great energy…We needed a game like that heading into the conference tournament”.
The men’s team (24-5, 15-4 GLIAC) delivered a massive win that ranked them No. 16 nationally on Thursday. Marcus Tomashek scored a game-high 27 points, and cemented the Husky’s victory with the final shot. Jesse Napgezek added 12 points, and the Huskies’ bench provided a strong boost with 26 points. Eight points and two assists were contributed by Matthew Schmainda. Grant Warren added four points and a team-leading and season-high eight rebounds. The defensive effort highlighted by a team-leading four steals from Gabe Smith, who also scored four points. In the men’s matchup on Saturday, the Huskies dominated during the first half with a score of 62-29 and earned their second-straight GLIAC regular season title. Ty Fernholz set a new school record with an individual high of 12 3-pointers.
“I do think you create your own luck in some ways,” said Head Coach Josh Buettner during the Thursday post game conference. “We got a couple of stops late after a couple not so great turnovers. There are a couple stats that we live by: the rebounds and the turnovers. I was happy with our bench today. We have a veteran group that kept the next play mentality. They’ve done that all year and the ball ends up in the right guy’s hands.” Buettner said “The ball was moving. The shots were going in,” during the Saturday post game.
Later, during the GLIAC tournament, the men’s basketball team would go on to defeat Davenport 72-70 on Mar. 4, before falling to Grand Valley State University on Mar. 7 with a final score of 70-82. Their next game will be at Lake Erie on Mar. 14. Meanwhile, the women’s team began and ended their tournament run with a 66-74 loss to Northern Michigan on Mar. 4. For more information, go to michigantechhuskies.com.
