Michigan Tech forward Dawson Nordgaard looks to attempt a layup during a game against Saginaw Valley State Saturday, Feb. 7, at the SDC Gym. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Despite defeating the Davenport Panthers in their GLIAC quarterfinal matchup, the No. 16 Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team saw their GLIAC Tournament run end abruptly with a loss to the No. 25 Grand Valley State Lakers Saturday, 82-70, at Vandament Arena in Marquette.

But, the season is not over yet. Sunday, the Huskies found out they had earned the Midwest Region’s third seed and will face the Lake Erie Storm, a former GLIAC opponent that now plays in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

The results of the GLIAC Tournament were not as surprising to Huskies coach Josh Buettner.

“I guess it’s preparing you. If you look at our entire body of work on the season, probably the two toughest weekends we had during the conference year were Davenport/Grand Valley at home, and Grand Valley/Davenport on the road,” he said. “So, you get to the conference tournament, you have Davenport/Grand Valley on a weekend again.

“Obviously, we struggled with both of them a little bit. Davenport, we found a way at home. Grand Valley had a heck of a weekend. We know they’re really good, obviously ultra familiar with us. They have four seniors that have been around as long as our four seniors. We played them three out of four years in the conference tournament. They’re comfortable guarding us.”

The Lakers went on an unprecedented run after the Huskies took a two-point advantage into halftime, 41-39.

“I thought, after the tough start, we came back,” Buettner said. “We had the lead at halftime. It’s a 27-2 run after we scored the first basket. To live through a 27-2 run where we really weren’t turning it over, and we really only had probably two or three questionable shots, that’s pretty amazing. Usually when you go through a run like that, you’re making a lot more obvious mistakes than we were. We missed some free throws. We missed some contested shots at the rim, but pretty good shots. We missed some threes that had some contests, but were still very good looks.

“And you know what? Grand Valley gave it to Northern (Michigan) pretty good on Sunday in their own gym. Grand Valley was the best team in the conference tournament. They deserve to win it. We’re 0-3 against them this year.”

Should the Huskies get past the Storm, another matchup against the Lakers looms as a very real possibility. Buettner feels the solution to beating them in a fourth matchup is simple.

“We learned that we need to make shots,” said Buettner. “Guys have to understand that you’re going to have to beat them with ball movement. We know how to get those open shots. You’re going to have a day when you make them.

“I think we’ve done a fairly good job of guarding them every game. The first time at home they beat us up on the glass. That hasn’t been the case with the second two.”

Buettner feels that senior guard Marcus Tomashek has not had the kind of game he is capable of having in any of the three matchups.

“It’s been hard for us to score against them,” Buettner said. “It’s a hard game for Marcus. Marcus has had three, I would say, inefficient games against them. They have a lot of bodies and a lot of length to throw at him. We’re going to need Marcus to kind of put on a cape, whatever you want to call it, get hot, and make some tough shots.

“He’s also got to be a playmaker, and guys have to step up and hit shots. You can scheme all you want. There’s still an element where you have to make some shots if you’re going to win the biggest games of the year.”

If Tomashek is going to have a strong game, Buettner said now is the time.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Buettner. “I’ve seen him do a lot of incredible things over the last four years. You get in a tournament like this where you play through, obviously, it’s one and done, or, at most, three games in four days. A lot of times it’s when somebody gets hot. You see it in the Division I tournament on a weekend, where somebody gets hot and kind of plays the hero.

“You know what? That’s what makes college basketball fun. It’s March Madness. They call it madness for a reason. And you know what? Maybe you’ll catch fire for a weekend. Maybe us as a team will catch fire. That’s your hope, your dream. Your defense needs to give you a chance, but you need to make some plays.”

Scouting the Storm

The Lake Erie Storm are 23-8 overall this season after falling in the GMAC championship game to No. 14 Walsh. The Storm opened the season with wins over Lake Superior State and Ferris State, and they went on an 11-game winning streak that ended with the loss to Walsh on Saturday.

The Storm are led offensively by junior guard Amari Williams, who averages 14.7 points per game. Redshirt sophomore guard Kai Bloom averages 11.5 points per game. Junior forward Gavin Welch is just shy of Bloom, averaging 11.2 points per game. Junior forward Gio Moore rounds out the offense, averaging 11.0 points per game.

Game time

The Huskies and Storm are set for an opening tip Saturday at 12 p.m. in North Canton, Ohio.