Michigan Tech forward Dawson Nordgaard dunks during the first half of a game against Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — After a grueling road trip where the Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team battled top-ranked opponents, long hours on buses, and severe illness, a return to the friendly confines of the SDC Gym had proven uplifting as the Huskies knocked off the Purdue Northwest Pride on Thursday night.

Saturday afternoon, the Huskies had aspirations of doing the same thing to the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, and despite trailing twice in the game’s opening 1:12, once the Huskies evened things for a second time, they never looked back en route to a 74-52 win.

Practices leading up to the weekend had been focused on how the Huskies needed to play defensively, and Saturday, the fruits of all that hard work was on display, according to coach Josh Buettner.

After all, the Huskies held Josiah Palmer to just eight points on the afternoon.

“I’m really proud of the way we played defensively,” he said. “I think Dan (Gherezgher) and a few spurts of Nate (Abel) on Palmer was a big, big part of our success.

“They’re one of the better 3-point shooting teams in Division II, and to hold them to 3-of-20, and hold a scorer like Palmer down, is big.”

While sophomore guards Marcus Tomashek and Gherezgher had 22 and 16 points, respectively, the Huskies’ offense was sparked by a dunk from freshman forward Dawson Nordgaard just under three minutes into the game. While he finished with just four points, he found a number of other ways to chip in, whether it was three rebounds, one steal, one assist, or two blocks.

“They gameplanned for Dawson today,” said Buettner. I mean, they came in, they had some different looks to double him. He’s been passing well. He turned it over a little bit today, but it’s probably one of the first games where somebody came in and said we need to game plan a little bit for him.

“Just throwing it into him opens up everything else. We had a lot of good looks from three, some open things on the perimeter, and some long closeouts, because they’re so worried about Nordgaard inside. I know he only shot three times, and the stat line’s not all there, but his impact is much more than that.”

With 7:10 left in the first half, junior guard Adam Hobson hit the first of two consecutive threes. He finished with 13 points off the bench, but while the offense was great, Buettner was especially proud of his defensive play.

“The shots were huge, but the thing that Hobbs has been focusing on is just being solid defensively, focusing on that, not focusing on the offense,” Buettner said. “That’s what we’re really trying to preach. Just move the ball, compete every possession, play hard defensively, (and) the offense will come.”

Hobson started the year as a member of the starting five for the Huskies, but has since found his role has changed. He is still trying to sort it all out, but he was happy to help impact the game Saturday at both ends of the floor.

“My role has been a little bit of a roller coaster this year, so just finding out how I can be impactful for the team has been big,” he said. “Obviously, there’s been days where I’ve been real disappointed in myself, but today wasn’t one of those days.”

With 3:27 left in the contest, he came up with his second steal of the afternoon. He quickly ran the ball to the other end, elevated and dunked, eliciting a cheer from the Huskies’ faithful in attendance.

“I was fortunate for both of my steals,” he said. “The ball just kind of ended up in my hands. Would love to say that I made some miraculous defensive plays, but that’s not the truth. The ball ended up in my hands, and any time you get a little breakaway, have a little fun, it really makes the ‘Wood’ Gym go crazy. So, (I) would love to say that was the one that put it away, but I’m sure it was long before that.”

The Huskies had a fourth player in double digits as junior forward Pete Calcaterra racked 13 off the bench as well, which helped drive the Huskies’ offense at points in both halves, including a stretch in the second half where he made 3-of-4 free throws and followed that up with a layup in a consecutive sequence.

For the Huskies, having four players finish in double figures was a key piece of the puzzle.

“I mean, four or five guys in double figures, that’s when you’re at your best, and that’s what you preach,” Buettner said. “I know there’s times when you have the hot hand, you want to ride it, too, but, the playmaking that Dan and Marcus are doing is huge. Marcus had four assists, one turnover, and he had at least three other passes that were just dots that got people wide open shots or whatnot. That’s awesome that he’s going to make the playmaker.

“Dan had some good passes, and the ball’s moving. When other guys start stepping up, it makes it hard. Dawson wasn’t even in double figures, but his impact and threat opened up a lot for everybody else, too.”

UP NEXT

The Huskies return to action Saturday at home when they host the Northern Michigan Wildcats at 3 p.m. at the SDC Gym.