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MARQUETTE, MI – The Northern Michigan University Men’s Basketball team saw four players in double figures, but it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats fell to Lake Superior State University 80-68 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.
Sophomore Will Carius (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) led the team with 21 points, achieving 20 points for the third time in the past five games. Junior Isaiah Johnson (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) posted 14 points and led the team in rebounding.
Senior Jordan Perez (Greendale, Wis.) chipped in with 14 points and added three steals. Junior Naba Echols(Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) finished with 10 points and five assists.
Defensively, sophomore Myles Howard (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) finished with four blocks.
Carius scored first, but the Lakers responded and took a 7-2 lead. NMU answered and eventually used a Johnson three-pointer to tie the game, then went ahead 13-11 with a Johnson tip-in. LSSU followed with five points to take back the lead, but NMU rallied back and tied the game again, 22-22 with a three-point play by Carius with 8:24 to go in the first half.
The guests answered and slowly built a 37-28 lead with less than five minutes to go in the half. Johnson narrowed the gap with a jumper, then Echols sank two free throws to make it 37-32. The Wildcats continued to chip away as Carius hit two layups to make it 37-36 with 2:31 left in the first. However, NMU was unable to score again, and an LSSU layup with a minute left in the half put the Lakers up 39-36 at the half.
To open the second half, LSSU slowly built up to a 57-45 lead at the 15-minute mark. Perez inched NMU closer with a three, but a basket by LSSU put the guests back up 11. After an NMU miss, Howard blocked a layup attempt, which Perez took advantage of on the offensive end to hit another three-pointer. On the next LSSU possession, Howard again blocked a layup attempt which Perez followed with a put-back layup to make the score 59-53 with 12:11 on the clock.
After a timeout, Howard got his third block on three-straight possession, and Carius hit two free throws to make it 59-54. After the Lakers finally succeeded on a layup, sophomore Marcus Matelski (Boyne Falls, Mich.)knocked in a three-pointer to narrow the gap to just 61-58 with 10:12 left to play.
Perez then stole the ball on the next Laker possession which led to two made free throws by Echols to make it a one point game with 9:30 on the clock. After the teams traded baskets to make it 63-62 at the 8:56 mark, LSSU scored seven-straight points. Carius ended the run with a layup, but a three-pointer gave the guests back the momentum. NMU was unable to pull any closer in the final minutes, falling to the GLIAC’s second ranked team 80-68.
The Wildcats fell to 14-10 on the season and are 12-5 in the GLIAC, while the Lakers improved to 19-6 overall, 13-4 in the league. NMU will look to bounce back Saturday as they host #3 Ferris State University in the Berry Events Center. Tickets for the game are available at the Marquette First Bank.
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MARQUETTE, MI – Freshman Elizabeth Lutz (Marshall, Wis.) scored a career-high 19 points and displayed a perfect night of shooting as she helped lead the Northern Michigan University Women’s Basketball Team to a 60-56 victory over Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Lake Superior State University.
Lutz finished the game 6 of 6 from the field and finished 5 of 5 from the three-point line, which were both career-highs. She also went 2 of 2 from the free throw line.
Junior Taylor Hodell (Wausau, Wis./DC Everest) added 11 points. Sophomore Jessica Schultz (Mineral Point, Wis.) chipped in with nine points and tied a season-high with nine rebounds. She also posted a career-high four assists.
Junior Emily Schramek (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) and freshman Lexi Smith (St. Germain, Wis./Northland Pines) each posted eight points.
Smith scored the first basket of the game, but LSSU answered with a three-pointer. The teams then traded points until Schultz hit a three-pointer to put NMU up 9-7, and Hodell sank two free throws to make it 11-7 less than four minutes into the game. Smith extended the lead, and after Hodell answered a Laker basket, NMU was leading 15-9 at the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Lakers narrowed it with a three, but Lutz answered with her first three of the game making it 18-12. After LSSU made a layup, sophomore Baleigh Delorit (Algoma, Wis.) hit a three-pointer. In the closing seconds, the guests made a layup to make it 21-16 after the first 10 minutes.
To open the second quarter, Hodell sank two free throws, then made a layup to put NMU ahead 25-16 less than two minutes in. LSSU answered with four points, but Lutz hit her second three to make it 28-20 halfway through the quarter. Hodell and the Lakers traded layups, then Smith gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, a 32-22 lead with just over two minutes left in the half. The teams traded buckets again in the final minute, but an LSSU three on their final possession made it 34-27 at the break.
Lutz hit her third three to start the third quarter, but the guests answered with five points. Schultz then made a layup, but the Lakers responded and eventually took a 41-39 lead with 4:38 left in the third. On the next NMU possession, Schramek gave the Wildcats the lead back with a three-pointer and Hodell made a layup to make it 43-41 with 3:37 to go in the quarter.
The Lakers answered with back-to-back three-pointers, then a layup to go ahead 49-43 in the last minute of the quarter. Lutz narrowed the gap with another three, but two free throws at the end put LSSU up 51-46 as the teams entered the final quarter.
Schramek narrowed the gap on the first NMU possession with a three, but the guests answered with a layup. Lutz responded with her fifth three-pointer to make it a 53-52 Laker early in the quarter. Schultz then followed it with a layup to give NMU back the lead, and the teams exchanged baskets and leads, with Lutz making a layup to make it 56-55 at the media timeout.
Junior Sydney Dillinger (Houghton, Mich.) extended the NMU lead with two free throws, making it 58-55 with 3:18 to play. The teams then went scoreless until an LSSU free throw made it 58-56 with less than a minute to play. In the final seconds Lutz secured the game by hitting two free throws, making it 60-56 for the game’s final score.
NMU improves to 12-13, 8-9 in the GLIAC while LSSU fell to 2-20 on the season, 1-16 in conference play. The Wildcats look to make it three wins in a row as they host Ferris State University Saturday in the Berry Events Center. Tickets for the game can be found at the Marquette First Bank.
Couresty: NMU Wildcats
