Michigan Tech guard Gabe Smith extends for a one-handed dunk during an exhibition game Saturday against Wisconsin-Stout at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — For 20 minutes, the Division III Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils looked like a team on the verge of doing something truly special. They trailed the Division II, 11th-ranked Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team by just four, 32-28.

Then came the second half. The Huskies rattled off 47 points, while holding the Blue Devils to just 13 in a 79-41 exhibition win Saturday at the SDC Gym.

“First, I want to give a lot of credit to Stout,” said Huskies coach Josh Buettner. “That’s a really good Division III team that was in a tough situation today, getting kind of getting caught in the blizzard, and getting here well after their estimated arrival. Coach (Tom) Webb, he’s got a good team. I think they’re going to give some people some fights in that league, and that’s a really good league. So a lot of credit to them.

“They had a good game plan. They had a couple guys that are hard to guard.”

Buettner did not like a lot of what he saw from his team in the first half.

“Our first half, I don’t know, I don’t have the answers offensively yet,” he said. “We’ve gotten off to some slow starts. I thought our defense was still there. I don’t think it was a playing hard thing. I think sometimes it’s an aggression thing with us.

“We were getting pushed off our spots a little bit, and I think they were a little tougher and a little more physical. I don’t think it was a complete no show. We were missing shots. Some of that’s credit to their defense, but we had some open looks from 3, missed some at the rim. I think we missed a couple free throws in the first half, and a little bit we let that affect our defense, or affect the other things. We needed to get a few more.”

Yet, there were positives. Senior guard Marcus Tomashek, who had not scored more than 18 since Sunday, Nov. 2, exploded down the stretch of the first half, scoring 13 straight points for Michigan Tech. In the end, he played 22:42, and led all scorers with 22 points.
”He still did a pretty good job of making some good passes, even down the stretch,” said Buettner. “We’re just trying to evolve his game a little bit to be somewhat of a playmaker, and he’s not as explosive as he was yet. Hopefully here, these next two weeks, we’re going to kind of crank up his workouts, try to get him back in better shape, and back a little bit more explosive for the stretch run here in conference.

“It’s been interesting, because the whole time this season, his numbers aren’t as gaudy and some of the percentages aren’t there. But, as a whole he hasn’t hurt our offense. He’s making the right plays, he’s guarding, he’s doing things that are helping us win.”

The 13-point stretch started with a 3-pointer about halfway through the first half. He followed that up 24 seconds later with a layup and a free throw to finish another 3-point play. Then he hit another 3-pointer 30 seconds later.

After making one of two free throws, he hit another long 3-pointer with 8:19 left in the half. He added one more 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to close out the first half with 16 points.

Two jumpers in the first 3:13 of the second half put him at 20 points quickly.

Redshirt sophomore guard Gabe Smith benefitted from the space Tomashek was creating, and when the final buzzer sounded, he had racked up 14 points in just over 26 minutes of action.

Buettner feels the sky is still the limit on Smith’s offensive capabilities.

“He’s a problem when he gets it going,” Buettner said. “The potential and the ceiling for him is unbelievably such a matchup problem. If you put a small on him, if you put a big on him, he can do so much, and he’s a load in there with his length and his athleticism. So, he’s going to keep getting better.

“We’re trying to let him be a little bit of a playmaker, get him in the middle on those short rolls and whatnot, and let him make decisions. I mean the learning curve for him is still going to be sharp this year.”

In the latter stages of the game, Buettner and his staff worked in redshirt freshman Layne Risdon and redshirt sophomore Luke Hazelton among others, and the pair of “bigs” had some strong play. Risdon finished with six points, and Hazelton just two, but both made an impact.

Up next

The Huskies head out of town again this coming weekend to take part in the Florida Tech Winter Classic in Melbourne, Florida. They will face the host, Florida Tech, Friday at 5 p.m., and then Lynn on Saturday at 7 p.m.