Michigan Tech guard Grant Warren attempts a dunk during a game against Wisconsin-Parkside Thursday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The No. 16 Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team led 22 seconds into Thursday’s matchup with the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, and they held that lead until the final 5:26 of play. However, they needed a last-second shot from senior guard Marcus Tomashek to earn their 24th win of the season, 68-65.

“We were fortunate to win today,” said Huskies coach Josh Buettner. “I do think you create your own luck in some ways. We got a couple stops late after a couple not-so-great turnovers.”

Buettner did point out that the Huskies won a key statistic, which helped them improve to 24-5 overall and 15-4 in GLIAC play.

“There’s a couple stats there, though, that we kind of live by, the rebounds and the turnovers,” he said. “The turnovers, we had a few more than them. But, to win the boards by 14, I think that’s what gave us a chance in this game. We stuck with it there.

“I was happy with our bench today. I thought they gave us a lift. They’re gonna be huge on Saturday. Our guys kept playing. I probably need to keep my head a little bit more, but we have a veteran group that kept the next-play mentality. They’ve done that all year, and the ball ends up in the right guy’s hands, your All-American, and (he hit a) big-time shot.”

Senior guard Nate Abel inbounded the ball to freshman guard Jesse Napgezek, who quickly got it over to Tomashek. Tomashek backed his defender into the paint and attempted to shoot, but the ball was knocked away.

Sophomore guard Ty Fernholz quickly recovered the ball and fed it back to Tomashek, who was now outside the 3-point line, and he calmly hit his seventh triple of the night to seal the win.

“Wasn’t exactly how we drew it up, but the plan was for me to get the last shot, and I guess it ended up happening,” Tomashek said. “Ty ended up being in the right spot, and obviously, it wasn’t my best play getting stripped like that, but it ended up working out.

“I just saw I was open and it was probably my cleanest shot all night. I made a few early, but that was probably the cleanest look I had all night. (I) just felt confident in myself, and knew I was probably going to make it.”

With Abel and Tomashek, who finished with a team-high 27 points, combining on that play, Buettner was proud of how his team’s seniors continue to come up big in key moments.

“It’s what seniors need to do this time of year,” he said. “We’ve tried to manage his (Tomashek) body quite a bit now, and now it’s at the point where you just have to push it. He’s still not as explosive as he was. He and (Josh) Terrian are pretty beat up.

“We were watching a little bit of film from early in the year and some, now you see what a body looks like when you play this far apart. You see what a body looks like in December, versus what a body looks like in almost March, especially with those older guys, but had enough in them to step up and hit the big shot.”

Behind Tomashek’s 27 points, Napgezek also reached double-figure scoring with 12 points as the Huskies’ bench accounted for 26 points. Junior guard Matt Schmainda had eight points (3-of-5) and two assists. Sophomore guard Grant Warren added four points and a team-leading and season-high eight rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Gabe Smith had a team-leading four steals to go with four points.

“I loved our bench today,” Buettner said. “Ty couldn’t get a three off, but you could see that he had three of them down there that got separation. Their bench was pointing out. He drew a lot of attention, which that gravity is still important. I thought he defended okay.

“Jesse was huge there. I thought Grant gave us great minutes, and, obviously, Schmainda with eight points, two threes. The pull up at the end might not be our favorite shot analytically, but I was really happy it went in today. It was at a big-time (play), and stopped a little bit of a run.”

Tomashek made it a seven-point game with 1:46 remaining in the half before a 3-pointer by Braden McGlothlin concluded the scoring, seeing Michigan Tech lead 34-30 entering halftime.

The Huskies dominated the glass in the first 20 minutes, with 25 rebounds, including 10 on offense, compared to just 13 boards from Parkside. Michigan Tech also held an advantage from beyond the arc, knocking down 8-of-16 3-pointers, five from Tomashek, as Wisconsin-Parkside went just 3-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Wisconsin-Parkside made things interesting, shooting 60% in the second half, outscoring the Huskies, 35-34, while knocking down four 3-pointers compared to two for the home team.

The Huskies led by as many as 11 points in the second half. Five minutes into the period, a steal by Terrian translated into two foul shots by Warren, making it a 45-34 affair. From there, the Rangers strung together a 9-0 run, forcing Michigan Tech to take a timeout.

Schmainda hit a timely jumper out of the break to make it a two-possession game before two free throws by Tomashek and a steal and slam by Smith moments later put the Huskies back ahead by seven points with 9:39 to go.

Once again, the Rangers found a scoring run, this time a 6-0 spurt to make it a one-point game, 53-52, before ultimately tying, and then taking their first of the day off a 3-pointer by Josiah Palmer with 3:47 left in the contest off an offensive rebound by Fawaz Surakat.

Napgezek was crucial for Michigan Tech in the final 4:22, with a layup and a putback while going 3-of-6 from the free throw line, helping tie the game at 65-all with 41 seconds to play.

Luka Mateski led four Rangers in double-figure scoring with 17 points, Palmer (15) and Paxton Ward (12) each contributed 10 points in the second half as part of the near second-half rally. Surakat also had a notable second half, adding nine points and six rebounds in the final 20 minutes. He finished with a double-double of 13 points and a team-high 11 boards.

Up next

The Huskies are one win away from at least a share of the GLIAC regular season title, welcoming Roosevelt to the SDC Gym for Senior Day Saturday, slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff.