The Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team (15-14, 11-9 GLIAC) traveled down to Detroit, Michigan to take on the Wayne State Warriors (15-11, 13-7 GLIAC) in the GLIAC tournament first round. Junior Kyle Monroe’s 45 points pushed the Huskies past the Warriors 88-74 to move on to the GLIAC semi-finals against the Lake Superior State Lakers (24-7, 16-4 GLIAC), hosted by Ferris State. Unfortunately, the Lakers were too much for the Huskies, as the Lakers ended Tech’s season by a score of 70-56.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, freshman Dawson Bilski knocked down a three, followed by a jumper by Monroe to give Tech the early 5-0 lead. The Warriors battled back to tie the game up at seven apiece, forcing the Huskies to call a timeout with 14:51 left in the first half. A jumper by junior Bryan Heath put the Huskies up 9-7, but a three by the Warriors gave Wayne State their first lead of the game. The Huskies went on a quick 10-3 run to take a 19-13 lead with 10:36 left in the first half.
Two free throws by sophomore Ryan Schuller and another three by Bilski put the Huskies up 24-17 with 8:42 left in the first half. A jumper by Monroe put Tech up 26-17 forcing the Warriors to call a timeout. The Warriors battled back making it a 28-24 Tech lead following a three by the Warriors. However, a jumper and a three by Monroe put Tech up nine, 33-24 with 4:27 left in the first half. Two free throws by senior A.J. Grazulis gave the Huskies the double-digit lead at 41-31 with 1:14 left in the first half. Both teams traded a basket to end the first half in favor of the Huskies, 43-36.
Both teams came out of halftime trading bucket for bucket. A jumper and a free throw by Bilski gave the Huskies back a ten-point lead, 50-40 with 17:46 remaining. A three by Monroe gave the Huskies their biggest lead of the game at 53-42. Another three by Monroe increased Tech’s lead, making it 56-42 forcing the Warriors to call a timeout. Two free throws by Grazulis put the Huskies up 68-53 with 8:16 left in the game.
A free throw by senior Tanner Uren and a three by senior Dillon Gordon gave Tech its biggest lead, 78-61 with 4:33 left in the game. Freshman Isaac Appleby added two more free throws to make it 80-61 with 3:54 left. For the rest of the game the teams traded basket for basket for the Huskies to earn the win 88-74 to move on to the GLIAC semi-finals.
Monroe led all scores with 45, while Appleby contributed 13. Bilski finished with 11, while Grazulis pitched in eight. Gordon finished with five, Heath with three, Schuller with two, and Uren with one. Uren led the Huskies with seven rebounds, and also led the Huskies with three assists. Monroe had two steals, Grazulis, Bilski, and Gordon each had a steal as well. Monroe and freshman Trent Bell each had a block on the night.
On Saturday, March 3, The Lakers started out the game with a quick 4-0 lead. However, a three by Monroe put the Huskies on the board making it 4-3 LSSU. A layup and a three gave the Lakers the 9-3 lead. Tech came charging back as a layup by Grazulis made it 11-9 LSSU with 13:59 left in the first. A layup by Gordon and a three by Monroe gave the Huskies their first lead of the game, 17-16 with 11:08 left in the first.
Tech went on an 8-0 run to take the 25-17 lead forcing the Lakers to call a timeout with 8:54 left in the first. The Lakers came charging back with a 13-0 run to take the 30-25 lead with 5:47 left in the first half. A layup and a free throw by Bell put the Huskies back on top, 32-30. A three by Monroe put the Huskies up 35-34 to end the first half.
Both teams came out of halftime trading basket for basket. The Lakers retook the lead on a layup and a three to make it 48-44 with 12:18 left in the game. Two layups and a three by the Lakers made it an 11-point game, 55-44 LSSU. A free throw by Grazulis gave the Huskies their first point in over five minutes. A three, jumper, and a free throw by the Lakers put LSSU up 63-46 with 5:03 left in the game. A jumper by Grazulis with ten seconds left in the game made it 70-56 to end the Huskies season.
Monroe again led the Huskies with 15 points, followed closely behind by Heath with 14. Grazulis contributed seven in his last game as a Husky. Gordon pitched in six in his last game as a Husky. Bell finished with five, while Appleby and Bilski each had four, and Schuller finished with one. Monroe led the Huskies with nine rebounds, while Appleby led the Huskies with six assists. Bell, Heath, Monroe, and Schuller each had a block on the night.
In other quarter-final games around the GLIAC, the Ashland Eagles (20-10, 12-8 GLIAC) defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats (15-13, 12-8 GLIAC) 83-72 in overtime in Ashland, Ohio. The Lake Superior State Lakers defeated the Grand Valley State Lakers (14-15, 9-11 GLIAC) 73-65 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Finally, the Ferris State Bulldogs (32-1, 19-1 GLIAC) defeated the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (12-17, 9-11 GLIAC) 113-84 in Big Rapids, Michigan.
In the other semi-final, Ferris State defeated Ashland 85-66. The Ferris State Bulldogs are the GLIAC tournament champions as they defeated the Lakers from Lake Superior State 69-61.
The Huskies say goodbye to seniors K.C. Borseth, Dillon Gordon, A.J. Grazulis, and Tanner Uren, and thank them for their amazing careers at Tech, and wish them the best of luck with their futures. The Huskies will welcome in another amazing freshman class, so far consisting of Eric Carl (Kaukauna, Wisconsin), Owen White (Rhinelander, Wisconsin), and Jacob Witt (Ewen, Michigan).
