Michigan Tech guard Dan Gherezgher drives around a Northern Michigan defender during a game Saturday, Feb. 17, at the SDC Gym. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

SAGINAW — The Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team held off a storming Saginaw Valley team to earn a weekend split in the final road trip of the regular season, escaping the Cardinals 84-79 on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan Tech rose to 10-15 overall and 7-9 in the GLIAC, while Saginaw Valley dropped to 13-13 overall and 6-11 in league play. The Huskies now reside seventh in the league standings with two games to play.

“I liked the way we fought defensively,” coach Josh Buettner said. “It was a team effort, but I liked the way Nate (Abel) and Dan (Gherezgher) did a good job and got after Toodles (Seal) and Freddie (McIntosh) — I know they got their points, but they had to work for them. Peyton (Lacombe) gave us seven big points and there were a lot of guys stepping up. It’s the same word I’ve used all long: consistency. Tonight we made some shots early and when the shots are going in, we’ve got a pretty good squad.”

Michigan Tech fended off a pesky Saginaw Valley team that outscored the Huskies 25-10 after going up by 18 at the 9:14 mark, making it a 3-point game at 80-77 with 24 seconds to play.

The two teams had multiple lead changes in a physical affair in the first half that saw four technical fouls, with the final stanza of technicals coming with 1:17 to play going on Abel and Saginaw’s Tre Garrett, who got whistled for his second of the game, to make him disqualified from the contest as the Cardinals leading scorer with 11 points.

Less than two minutes before Garrett’s disqualification, Marcus Tomashek drew a foul on Maurice Anderson, who then received a technical foul at a pivotal moment with Tomashek connecting on all four free-throws to make a three-point game turn to seven in one possession (40-33).

Tomashek scored the final points of the half with a jump shot at 1:36 to make it a seven-point lead heading into halftime ahead 44-37.

Michigan Tech got a boost off the bench from Adam Hobson, who shot three-for-three in the second half with a Gherezgher dunk also occurring in two minutes time to take the Huskies from a six-point lead to a 16-point lead at 68-52 with 10:44 to play.

With the Cardinals’ leading scorer kicked out of the game, Saginaw Valley relied on its depth to cut the game to three with big baskets by Seal and Dylan West, although McIntosh hit the biggest shot to make it a one-possession game with 24 seconds left.

The Huskies pulled away with fouls sending Tomashek to the foul line, where he went four-for-four in the final 20 seconds to seal the game 84-79.

Tech shot 56.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, to go with 17-for-20 from the charity stripe (85 percent).

Tomashek led all scorers with 26 points joined by Gherezgher with 23 points, a team-high eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

Seal led four Cardinals in double-digit scoring, while West posted a double-double with a team-leading 12 rebounds to go with 19 points.

UP NEXT

Michigan Tech has a lot to play for in the final two games of the season, welcoming Davenport and Grand Valley State to the SDC Gym on Thursday and Saturday.