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Michigan Tech men upset No. 18 Saginaw Valley State for key GLIAC win

SAGINAW, Mich. — The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team capped a successful week with an impressive 93-72 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at No. 18 Saginaw Valley State on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies rallied to defeat Wayne State 63-58 on Thursday night and are now tied for second place in the GLIAC North Division standings.

“This was a great win for us today and I thought we played at a high intensity both games this week,” Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Luke said. “Today our players took it upon themselves to get it done and we were able to execute our systems at a high level to earn the win. You can’t beat a team like Saginaw without great efforts from multiple players and that’s we got today.”

Michigan Tech (8-8, 6-3 GLIAC) gained confidence early with a quick 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the contest. Junior A.J. Grazulis began the afternoon with a layup 18 seconds into the action to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge. It would be the first two of a career high 16 points for Grazulis who would finish the contest a perfect 7 for 7 from the field and 2 for 2 at the free throw line.

Malik Garner countered for Saginaw Valley State (11-5, 4-5 GLIAC) to tie the game 2-2 with 9:14 on the first half clock. It was the only occasion on Saturday where both teams were equal on the scoreboard. Tech proceeded to reel off the next seven points in the game and never allowed the Cardinals to own the edge. The scoring burst was started by senior Jordan Chartier who found the target from behind the three points arc. Sophomore Bryan Heath added a layup and two free throws by Grazulis made it a 9-2 score with 17:06 remaining in the first half.

The Cardinals countered with the next five points to pull within two points again at 9-7. CJ Turnage worked his way inside for a layup followed by a trio of free throws from Wade Gelhaus and Garrett Hall. However, the Huskies would outscore SVSU 11-3 over the next three minutes on their way to the first double digit advantage of the day at 20-10. Chartier produced the first five points and then triples courtesy of senior Jeff Gregory and sophomore Kyle Monroe capped the run.

SVSU closed to within seven points a few separate times throughout the remainder of the half, but the Huskies kept them at bay before creating a double digit separation with a strong final two minutes of the opening frame. Up 40-33 with 1:26 left until the intermission, freshman Tommy Lucca cut to the hoop for a layup which turned into a conventional three-play when he was fouled on the shot by Mike Wells.  Grazulis tacked on two points with a jumper and then the dagger was delivered by senior Jason Hawke. Hawke stole the ball from Garrett Hall and just before the buzzer sounded, banked in a three point shot, giving the Huskies a 48-33 advantage at halftime.

Tech would continue to build the lead throughout the remainder of the second half. The Huskies largest advantage came with two minutes to go when Hawke found the bottom of the net for a 93-64 lead. The Cardinals would get the final eight points of the afternoon, but it was too little too late.

Lucca powered the Tech offense on Saturday with 24 points by going 7 of 14 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Lucca also distributed a team best five assists in the victory.  Monroe was 8 of 13 from the floor and wrapped up the contest with 20 points and a team high seven rebounds. Chartier contributed 18 points by going 7 of 10 from the field, and Grazulis chipped in a career high 16 points to go along with six rebounds.

Tech converted a season best 35 of 55 shots from the field and made 12 of 18 attempts from behind the arc, also a season high in regards to percentage. The Huskies also cashed in 11 of 13 looks at the charity stripe. Tech wrapped up the game with 18 assists, 17 points off 10 SVSU turnovers, and 34 points in the paint. The final point total of 93 was also a season high for the Huskies.

Hall had a game high 29 points for the Cardinals followed by Caleb Davis with 12 points to round out the double digit scorers. Turnage chipped in eight points and Gelhaus added seven points. Both Turnage and Gelhaus shared the team lead on the glass with eight rebounds apiece. As a team, SVSU went 24 of 60 from the field, were 8 of 21 from three-point range, and 16 of 23 from the free throw line. The Cardinals had a slight edge in total rebounds at 33-30.

The Huskies will return to Houghton on Thursday night to open a four game home stand in GLIAC play against Northwood. The tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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