Michigan Tech’s Jalen Carter (11) drives to the basket against Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With a 65-62 victory over the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals on Saturday, the Michigan Tech men’s basketball team completed a two-game weekend sweep.

It was a come-from-behind win for the Huskies (8-3) as they overcame a 12-point deficit at halftime. The turn around was led by Eric Carl who poured in a total of five three-point shots with four of them coming in the second. With less than nine minutes to go in the game, Carl hit a three that put the Huskies in the lead for the first time at 50-47, and Tech didn’t look back.

“We never gave up,” Carl said. “We shot the ball poorly in the first half, and we turned it over way too many times. We buttoned down in the second and made the shots we were supposed to make.”

In the second half, the Huskies scored 22 points alone off of turnovers and second-chance shots. They had just five in the first half.

The Cardinals (2-9) out did the Huskies in the first 20 minutes with 20 points in this category. However, in the last 20 minutes, they scored just 10.

Luke said part of this transition was due to the tenacity of Tech guard Carter Johnston. While he only had six total points on the afternoon, he led the Huskies with six assists and four turnovers.

“At the start of the second half, Carter gave us the energy to pick up some momentum,” said Luke. “It’s that type of play that makes an average team really good.”

Owen White had a double-double for Tech with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Carl had 17 points and Dawson Bilski scored 14.

Having multiple players score big and bring down rebounds is the way the Huskies are going to win games, said Tech head coach Kevin Luke.

“I thought in that second half we did everything we needed to do to be successful,” he said. “I thought our boxing out was tremendous. We need to do the fundamental things, and when we do that, we have a chance.”

For the Cardinals, Darnell Hoskins Jr. was deadly from the three-point arc as 12 of his game-high 20 points came from there. Myles Belyeu followed him with 15 points.

“This weekend’s play gave us confidence that we can win in a variety of ways,” Luke said. “We can establish an inside game, and we can play an outside game. We will have to play like we did today in that second half and grind it out as we move forward.”

After a four-game homestand, the Huskies will be back on the road this weekend to face the Davenport University Panthers on Friday and Saturday.

SVSU 34 28 — 62

MTU 22 43 — 65