Michigan Tech forward Dawson Nordgaard dunks during a game against Grand Valley State Friday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The No. 5 ranked Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team was stunned Friday by a very physical Grand Valley State Lakers Friday at the SDC Gym. Saturday, the Huskies bounced back with a win over the Davenport Panthers.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the GLIAC

Huskies 77, Panthers 68

The Huskies had four starters reach double-figure scoring in a 77-68 victory over Davenport at the SDC Gym Saturday afternoon.

For the second-straight day, senior guard Josh Terrian paced the offense with 18 points, going 6-of-11 from long range. Senior guard Nate Abel and redshirt sophomore guard Gabe Smith each finished with double-doubles, with 14 points and 12 boards for Abel as Smith netted 11 points to go with 12 rebounds.

Senior guard Marcus Tomashek had 13 points and a team-high five assists.

“I thought we played a lot better than Thursday (Friday),” said Huskies coach Josh Buettner. “Davenport watched what Grand Valley State did, and got uber physical again. The one thing our guys did probably better than yesterday was keep playing.

“We had a couple of stretches today with transition defense, which we need to get shored up before next week, but I was proud of a lot of guys and I thought (Dawson) Nordgaard had a heck of a game, Nate was unbelievable and Josh has always been able to shoot and he still did all his normal Josh things defensively.”

After a basket from each team, the Huskies gained separation with three consecutive 3-pointers by Terrian, making it an 11-6 advantage in under four minutes played. Sophomore guard Ty Fernholz and junior guard Matt Schmainda hit from long range with the 3-pointer by Schmainda, giving the Huskies a 21-13 edge with 11:31 remaining in the opening half.

Abel was a force for the Huskies in the first half, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, including two treys and a baseline fadeaway to conclude the scoring and see the Huskies ahead, 40-33, heading into halftime.

The Huskies began the second half out-scoring the Panthers 9-3, holding the opposition to just 16.7% from the field through the 15:36 mark, seeing Michigan Tech pace Davenport, 49-37.

The high-flying Panthers found their way back into the contest with baskets in transition, orchestrating a 9-0 run out of the media break as the Huskies went scoreless for a couple of minutes, forcing Michigan Tech to take a timeout ahead 49-45 with 12:56 to go.

Davenport made it a one-possession affair with 12:16 to play after five-straight points from Ken Walker, making it 51-50 in favor of the home team, before Tomashek snapped the cold streak with a 3-pointer, then a jumper on the following trip down.

The Huskies were scoreless for almost three minutes while Davenport had evened the score before Tomashek drew a foul and connected on both free throws to reclaim the lead 60-58 with seven minutes remaining.

After the Huskies endured a marginal scoring drought, they returned the favor by holding the Panthers scoreless for 4:22 while pouring on 12 unanswered points to regain a double-digit lead, 70-58, with 2:01 to go.

Abel and Fernholz each hit two free throws down the stretch before a layup by the Panthers decided the contest at 77-68.

Curtis Jackson led the Panthers with 23 points as Dylan Smith had a team-high six boards.

Lakers 79, Huskies 75

The Huskies were on the wrong side of a physical GLIAC affair, falling 79-75 to Grand Valley State at the SDC Gym Friday afternoon.

Michigan Tech saw a new career-high 19 points from Terrian, who connected on 5-9 from 3-point land to lead four players in double-figure scoring.

Jalen Charity had a game-high 22 points for Grand Valley State, won the rebounding battle 43-36, including a 16-13 advantage on offense, while enjoying 33 points from the bench.

“Grand Valley State came in and out toughed us from start to finish and deserved it more than us,” said Buettner. “We lost the game because we gave them offensive rebounds and points in transition. Our offense had nothing to do with the loss-we got out-toughed and they got their points in toughness.”

In a defensive struggle, the two teams combined for 20 points halfway through the first half, seeing the Huskies ahead 11-9 with four points from Tomashek and Nordgaard, respectively.

GSVU orchestrated a 13-2 run from the 6:36 mark to the 4:46 mark to jump ahead 26-19 before Michigan Tech snapped a cold-shooting streak with a 3-pointer by Terrian, his second of the half. The Lakers enjoyed back-to-back 3-pointers by Ethan Alderink following a trey by Charles Turner as part of the offensive spurt.

The two teams jostled for a convincing lead down the stretch of the first half as the two teams had five ties and four lead changes before Grand Valley State pulled ahead 37-35 with free throws by Cam Regnerus to head into halftime.

It took nearly five minutes into the second half before the Huskies were able to tie the game once again after GVSU maintained a lead early. Free throws by Smith made it 44-all in a second half that saw 15 personal fouls go against the Huskies compared to 12 for the visitors. The Huskies also were on the wrong side of the turnover battle in the second stanza, coughing up the ball eight times.

A layup by Schmainda with 7:36 to play gave the Huskies its final lead of the contest at 56-54 before the home team would be forced to foul from three minutes to go until the buzzer.

Terrian made it a two-point game once again with 1:49 to play (71-69) before the two teams traded free-throw opportunities, ultimately seeing two free throws by Charity deciding the game at 79-75.

Tomashek had a team-high four assists to go with 12 points as Abel added a team-leading nine boards.

Charity also led his squad in rebounds with seven, as Mason Docks had a game-high three steals.

Up next

Michigan Tech wraps four-straight home games next weekend hosting Northern Michigan Thursday and Ferris State on Saturday.