Michigan Tech’s sophomore guard Owen White (22) shoots against Saginaw Valley State on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies will advance to the semi-finals of the GLIAC Tournament thanks to a 75-56 quarterfinal win on Tuesday against Saginaw Valley State University.

Both teams each won a regular season game against the other. Michigan Tech head coach Kevin Luke noted that Tuesday’s game was similar to the 73-69 loss the Cardinals dealt the Huskies a month ago on the road. Except this time, the Huskies came out on top.

“It was the exact scenario we had down in Saginaw Valley, but tonight we finished it,” he said.

The Cardinals scored first off the tip but that did not last long as the Huskies used the long ball in their opening possessions. Trent Bell open with a three-pointer and then Owen White followed. On the third time down the court, Bell connected again from beyond the arc to make it a 9-4 game.

Coach Luke said the Huskies’ offense was not up to par in the first half. In fact, Tech briefly lost the lead at the 9:50 mark as the Cardinals went ahead 19-18. the Huskies would bounce back to regain the lead only to have the Cardinals creep back in around the 3:30 mark and tied the game a 28.

“We seemed to lack aggression in the first and that drive to the basket,” he said. “I thought we were a little soft. Our passes weren’t not crisp.”

The key, Luke said, was their defense.

“Credit goes to our defense, we descended on their leading scores and held them to under their averages,” he said. “I was really pleased with our defense.”

MTU led 36-28 at halftime.

“I told our guys to get moving and get the ball going at the half,” said Luke, “and it seemed to work.”

Tech’s offense came alive in the second half as they came out shooting. The Huskies pushed their lead to 51-39 in the opening minutes. Trent Bell and Owen White both hit big threes during that stretch to move the score forward. That lead would eventually grow to 15 and then to 19 with less than a minute to play.

Michigan Tech scored 30 points in the paint compared to SVSU who had just 12. More than half of those points (16) came in the second half.

Leading the scoring charge for the Huskies was White with 22.

“I thought Owen played outstanding both offensively and defensively,” Luke said. “He help us keep that cushion lead in the second half.”

Despite having just four points in the first half, Kyle Monroe posted a double-double by the end of the night with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Bell followed with 14 points.

Malik Ellison and Myles Beylue both led Saginaw Valley State with 16 points each.

The Huskies will face the winner of the Grand Valley State versus Ashland University game Friday.

SVSU 28 28 — 56

MTU 36 39 — 75

SAGINAW VALLEY (56): Hoskins Jr. 11, Ellsion 16, Belyeu 16, John Jr. 2, Smith 8, Toohey 3. 3-point FG: 8 (Hoskins Jr. 3, Ellison 2, Belyeu 1, Smith 1, Toohey 1). F: 20. Rebounds: 32. FT: 12-15.

MICHIGAN TECH (75): Appleby 7, Bilski 10, White 22, Monroe 19, Bell 14, Carl 3. 3-point FG: 9 (Appleby 1, Bell 4, Bilski 1, White 2 Carl 1). F: 14. Rebounds: 39. FT: 16-20.