Michigan Tech guard Jesse Napgezek extends for a dunk in a game against Saginaw Valley State Saturday, Feb. 7, at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The No. 12-ranked Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team steps into this week coming off a pair of key wins last week over Purdue Northwest and Wayne State. Even though the Huskies are 22-4 overall, and 13-3 in GLIAC play, nothing is guaranteed in conference play.

“(I am extremely happy. Winning on the road is tough,” said Huskies coach Josh Buettner. “It was a long bus ride. When you add in a four-hour trip in between the two long ends, it’s a heck of an accomplishment. We haven’t won at Wayne State in … I think we had lost three straight down there. Getting a win there is good.

“Purdue’s playing as well as anybody in the league. That was a big-time win. Obviously, we saw that they got Northern (Michigan) on Saturday, which, I think, shows how well they’re playing.

“Anytime you can go 2-0 on the road, that’s a big-time accomplishment.”

When asked about how crucial Saturday’s win over Wayne State was for the Huskies, Buettner didn’t mince words.

“If you ask the guys, they could tell that I was worried about it,” he said. “I was probably as uptight as I’ve been all year at halftime, and some of that’s experience. I think they felt, ‘Oh, we’re up seven, that’s fine.’ I felt like we should have been up quite a bit more, because the back end of those Saturday games are tough. You’re going to be tired. It’s harder to guard a team that is more athletic than you, (when they) can put their head down, start going to the basket, and getting to the line.

“Things can go wrong. The bigger the cushion you have, the better. Obviously, we saw that can happen. Probably all my fears were coming true in the second half, but, at the same time, I’m proud of our guys.”

Buettner’s Huskies have been through several different types of games, and won 22 of them, so he feels that his team is battle tested at this point.

“It’s been like that a lot this year,” he said. “We’ve been in a ton of close games, and they never lost their composure, made big shots, made big plays, and found a way to win.”

Senior guard Marcus Tomashek is a big reason for that level of confidence from Buettner. He put up 16 in the win over Purdue Northwest and followed that up with a team-high 23 against Wayne State.

“I like that he survived not having his best shooting down there, didn’t get frustrated, kept playing, kept leading, and kept helping make other players better, which is what we need of him, whether he’s making shots or missing shots,” said Buettner. “He was obviously 6-of-20 against Wayne. Couple huge ones down the stretch, though, made some big free throws after missing some big free throws, and as long as he keeps going, keeps his head, keeps trying to defend and play, make and lead, I’m happy with where he’s at.”

Alongside Tomashek at points in games, freshman guard Jesse Napgezek seems to be learning from one of the best in the DII game, as he takes in lessons from Tomashek. He was held off the scoreboard Thursday in 15 minutes of action, but bounced back with 10 Saturday when the team needed them.

“I think Mark, I don’t know, he probably sees a little bit of him in Jesse, and has really been trying to guide him, I think,” Buettner said. “That hasn’t been something we’ve done. I think Mark is just coming that way as a leader, and Jesse shows signs of really being able to be kind of the playmaker role within our offense. He can create some advantages from nothing, because he is pretty athletic. He’s got some size. He’s got a really good ability to finish around the basket.”

With the Huskies facing Northern Michigan Thursday, and then Ferris State on Monday, they have a little extra time between games, but Buettner said the expectations are still the same in terms of effort.

“I’ve been pushing them to go as hard as they can for every game,” he said. “If you could hear how many times I’ve said this game’s (Thursday) the biggest game on our schedule, because it is right now.

“I felt, for the most part, we’ve taken everybody’s best shot pretty much all year. We’ve been in a million close games. We’ve taken a lot of the best shots. If we’re not bringing it, and playing to win, we’re just in danger every night.”

Scouting the Wildcats

The No. 22 Northern Michigan Wildcats come into Thursday are 21-5 overall and 12-4 in GLIAC play after a weekend that saw them defeat Wayne State Thursday, but fall to Purdue Northwest Saturday. The Huskies won the previous matchup on Thursday, Jan. 8, 84-75.

Fifth-year forward Dylan Kuehl continues to terrorize defenses, averaging 20.0 points per game. Redshirt sophomore guard Cal Klesmit averages 13.0 points per game. Fifth-year forward Jackson Dudek rounds out the offense, averaging 12.3 points per game.

Game time

The Huskies and Wildcats will battle Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Vandement Arena in Marquette.