Michigan Tech’s Bryan Heath looks for an opening against Lewis at the Wood Gym on Nov. 12. (David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Losing when your opponent makes tough shots like when the Michigan Tech men fell 89-82 in overtime to Minnesota State Moorhead is much more tolerable than what occurred in Tech’s 65-52 loss to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday. 

The Huskies (2-2) led 37-33 at the half over Southwest before they shot just 6 of 25 in the second half (1 of 8 from 3) and were outscored 32-15 during that span. 

“We just weren’t that tough. I thought we played soft and the results showed it,” Tech coach Kevin Luke said of the loss on Friday. 

Now the Huskies will look to snap a two-game skid when they host Minnesota Duluth tonight at 6 p.m. at the Wood Gym before welcoming Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Tech will need a performance that’s more reminiscent of Saturday’s overtime loss, instead of Friday’s weak showing. 

“You have to swing the ball and attack,” Luke said. “The offense is designed for that level of comfort. You can get shots and take the ball to the rim, and we didn’t do either that well on Friday.

“Saturday, we attacked and were aggressive and looked like a totally different club. We went to the rim. A.J. (Grazulis) was aggressive going to the rim and Kyle Monroe was. We were much more aggressive attacking and playing Tech-type basketball.”

Monroe recorded a career-high 40 points (17 of 34 shooting) and added 13 rebounds in the loss to Moorhead, who offset Monroe’s scoring output by knocking down 6 of 10 3-pointers in the second half. Grazulis added 12 points off the bench on 4 of 6 shot attempts. 

Monroe’s currently averaging 25 points on 52 percent shooting (42 percent from 3) and nine rebounds. But Luke would like to see his team get a better scoring balance when Monroe isn’t going off. 

Against Southwest, Monroe made just 3 of 9 shot attempts in the second half, but the rest of the Huskies combined to shoot 3 of 16. 

“I like when he’s aggressive because he can carry us,” Luke said. “But we have to get better when Kyle’s not in that mode. He’s not going to get 30 or 40 every night, but we have to count on him for what he can do. It’s still equally important for us to have that supporting cast and be able to execute when they have him bottled up like they did on Friday.

“He’s the focus of every team’s defense, so we need to get everyone else up to speed and making plays.”

Minnesota Duluth (0-2) is seeking its first win of the season after losing to Central Missouri (76-60) and Lindenwood (69-61). 

Concordia St.-Paul also has a losing record (1-3) but has the distinction of defeating the Division I UW-Milwaukee Panthers 69-55 in an exhibition contest on Nov. 17. 

These last two matchups will be the final nonconference games before Tech starts its GLIAC schedule by hosting Saginaw Valley State on Nov. 30 and Northwood on Dec. 2. 

“I want us to learn that you can’t take any possessions off,” Luke said. “I want us to learn that we’re a good club when we execute and play Tech-type basketball. And I want us to believe that if we do those things, it’s going to be a good season.”

LUCCA’S STATUS

Sophomore point guard Tommy Lucca has missed the last three games due to injury. But more information about last season’s GLIAC Freshman of the Year should be coming soon after he had an MRI on Tuesday.

“We’re going to wait out the results and see what’s going on. That’s all we can do,” Luke said. “Hopefully there’s no damage in there.”