MTU men’s basketball earns first win of season
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HOUGHTON -- What a difference a day makes. After losing a close one to the Lewis Flyers, 71-67, on Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies men's basketball team came out strong and posted a 77-67 win over the McKendree Bearcats on Sunday, at the SDC Gym.
These two season openers were part of the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover, which Tech hosted at the SDC.
"We wanted to be tougher after the loss on Saturday, and I think we did that today (Sunday)," said Huskies coach Josh Buettner.
It was a game lead by Michigan Tech freshman Dan Gherezger. The 6-foot-3 guard from Brookfield, Wisconsin, sunk 27 points. He made all his free throws (6) and was 3-5 from three-point range.
"He had a great game," said Buettner. "I think he was a little timid yesterday as the opener, but he had the hot hand today."
Gherezger helped push the Huskies out to a 24-15 lead at the 9:55 mark. While the Bearcats got the game within four, that was as best as they could do as the two teams headed to the locker rooms at half, with Michgian Tech in front, 38-34.
"At half, I thought we were in a good spot," said Buettner. "I just reemphasized that we need to keep our coverage strong on defense and comeout and play tough. The more aggressive we were the better chances we had of winning."
Other than a brief lapse at around the eight-minute mark of the second, the Huskies dominated. According to their coach, the Huskies "let down their guard" and allowed McKendree to come within two points at 51-49.
However, their guard popped right back up as Gherezgher, Adam Hobson and Eric Carl each sunk threes on consecutive possessions to make it a 60-49 game and moved it to the eventual victory.
"Those threes gave us some breathing room," said Gherezgher. "I thought my job was to make it hard for them to guard me, and I thought I did that well with both the long ball and my drive to the hoop."
Brad Simonsen followed Gherezgher with 12 points. Hobson and Marcus Tomashek both had 11 points to round out the Huskies top scorers. As a team, Michigan Tech shot 44.1% from the field and were 9-21 in 3-point shooting.
The Bearcats were led in by Eric Powell II, who sunk 22 points. As a team, McKendree shot 38.9% from the field and were 8-23 in 3-point shooting.
Buettner was also pleased with his team's rebounding effort on Sunday. The Huskies out boarded the Bearcats 38-34. In particular, he noted the hard work of Simonsen and 6-foot-6 guard Peter Calcaterra, who combined for 16 boards.
"That is what I want them to do every night," said Buettner. "I've told them that they need to run the floor and crash the glass if they do nothing else each game. It makes a huge difference, and it will win games."
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Michigan Tech will play at home on Friday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. against Minnesota-Crookston.