Michigan Tech guard Jesse Napgezek dunks during a game against Lake Superior State Thursday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The No. 17 Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team needed a win. They had dropped a pair in a row and were facing an opponent Thursday in the Lake Superior State Lakers who nearly came back and beat them in a game earlier this season.

This time around, the Huskies trailed at times in both halves, but ultimately found a way to earn a 96-76 win at the SDC Gym.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 19-4 overall and 10-3 in GLIAC play.

“You want to throw the cliche out there of a must win, there’s not much more of a must win than there was today,” said Huskies coach Josh Buettner. “Coming off the performance we had (last week) with momentum, and being at home, you have one more home before a four-game road trip, there’s just nothing easy ahead.

“If you could pick one team to not play coming off a two-game losing streak on the road, it’s them. They’re playing so well, and keep getting better. They’re so dangerous. It took a monumental effort by us today to come out ahead.”

It helped to get senior guard Marcus Tomashek out of the gates strong. He drained a 3-pointer just 2:19 in and then hit another 36 seconds later put Michigan Tech up 13-5. He picked up his third 3-pointer from right in front of the Lake Superior State bench 8:03 into the game to make it a one-point deficit, 20-19, after the Lakers made a push to take the lead a minute earlier.

In the end, Tomashek shot 11-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc to post a game-high 36 points.

“I was proud of him defending and moving it,” said Buettner. “Those other guys, they came out really aggressive today, kind of set the tone. (Josh) Terrian was awesome. Dawson (Nordgaard) was fighting in there. That group of seniors, I hope they feel it. There’s only three more guaranteed at home. I hope we get a good crowd on Saturday to enjoy how good these guys have been.”

The Huskies trailed much of the rest of the first half once the Lakers took the lead, but a 3-pointer from junior guard Matt Schmainda in the left corner put Michigan Tech back in front, 37-35 with 3:40 left in the half. After Lake Superior State tied it at 37-37, Terrain drained his first 3-pointer of the night. The Huskies then closed out the first half with a pair of free throws from Tomashek to take a 48-44 advantage into the break.

In the second half, Terrian caught fire. It started with a 3-pointer just 3:08 in. He made another just about three and a half minutes later. By the time the game ended, Terrian hit 6-of-8 from beyond the arc to finish with 18 points.

“Just shooting it with confidence,” said Terrian, when asked what was working for him. “I think at this point in my career, I’m just shooting it with as much confidence as I’ve ever had. Coach has been talking, there’s only so many more games we have left in this Wood Gym, and, with it being my last year, just try to enjoy the moment and enjoy the crowds, enjoy the venue in these big games.

“I think I just feed off that energy. When you see one go in, you just get more and more confidence. It’s the guys around me too, like Marcus making great plays, making great passes, other guys on the floor, Jesse (Napgezek), Nate (Abel), all those guys, (and) Dawson down low. So, it’s a team effort, but I was happy I was able to knock some down today.”

Buettner agreed.

“We went away from Josh a little bit on the road there (in the two losses),” he said. “He’s been beat up and not moving as well. We kind of challenged him Monday, kept him out of practice Monday, but said Tuesday, ‘You have to get back to being the Terrian that’s gotten us here.’ He had a great practice on Tuesday. He raised the level of our practice, and then he came out today and was rewarded for it.”

The Huskies got 10 points from Napgezek, a freshman guard, six from sophomore guard Ty Fernholz, and five from Schmainda, which helped the team score 26 off the bench.

“I thought Schmainda hit a couple huge shots and made some plays,” Buetter said. “Jesse was really good.

“Ty hit a couple huge shots. Ty defended as well as he’s defended all year. So, I was really happy with our bench tonight.”

Up next

The Huskies are back in action Saturday as they host the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals at the SDC Gym. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.