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Men’s Basketball: Tech sails past Finlandia, 119-72

Michigan Tech’s Tyler Robarge (44) puts up a shot in front of Finlandia’s Devin Moultrie (23) on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — While it had been more than four years since crosstown schools Finlandia University and Michigan Tech had played each other on the basketball court, it had been more than nine years since the Huskies scored more than 100 points in a game.

The Huskies checked both of those boxes Wednesday, dominating Finlandia at Wood Gym in a 119-72 win.

The last time the Huskies had scored triple digits was Dec. 4, 2010 when they defeated Northern Michigan on the road 109–84.

The win marked the Huskies (7-2, 2-0 GLIAC) fifth win in a row. The score doesn’t give the game justice as it was not a blowout to start.

The Lions (0-10) commanded an early lead in the opening minutes thanks to sharp shooting beyond the three-point arc. The Lions shot 9 of 15 (60 percent) in the first half.

“Finlandia deserves a lot of credit,” said MTU head coach Kevin Luke. “They came in here and played loose and making some big threes. They shot the ball extremely well in the first half.”

Finlandia’s Dylan Underwood was on fire from three-point land in the first 20 minutes as he was 5 of 8 from there. He contributed 26 of the Lions 44 first-half points.

Michigan Tech led 59-44 at halftime.

The Lions didn’t maintain their sharp shooting magic in the second. Finlandia shot 13 of 33 for the game on 3-pointers.

And the Huskies took the ball and ran with it.

They shot 66.7 percent overall in the second 20 minutes and were 6 of 12 from beyond the three-point arc.

Michigan Tech had an impressive five players in double figures. They included Owen White with 28, Dawson Bilski 17, Eric Carl 14, and Kyle Monroe and Tommy Luca each with 10 points.

“From a coach’s perspective, this is what you want to see in terms of production,” Luke said. “Also this game gave us a chance to see our second and third line play with confidence so that when they have to come in in a bigger game it is not so foreign. We were very pleased with that.”

Underwood finished with 29 points for the Lions.

Tech hosts Northern Michigan at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Finlandia plays against Hope in the Orlando Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 17 in Orlando, Florida.

FU 44 28 — 72

MTU 59 60 — 119

FINLANDIA (72): Underwood 29, Kirksey 10, Deshields-Beard 10, Oom 6, Moultrie 4, Hendrickson 3, Marzette 3, Johnston 3, Graves 2, Shumate 2. FT: 7-11. FG: 26-65. 3-point FG: 13-33. F: 16. Rebounds: 29 (Underwood 8). Assists: 10 (Hendrickson 4). Steals: 7 (Oom 2).

MICHIGAN TECH (119): White 26, Bilski 17, Carl 14, Monroe 10, Lucca 10, Bell 9, Johnston 9, Appelby 8, Powell 6, Robarge 4, Carter 3, Schmitz 3. FT: 14-17. FG: 46-75. 3-point FG: 13-27. Rebounds: 43 (Bell 7, Lucca 7). Assists: 29 (Lucca 12). Steals: 15 (Bilski 3, Appelby 3).

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