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WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. -- With a 79-72 win over Winona State Friday and a 73-69 win Saturday over Missouri-St. Louis, the Michigan Tech Huskies men's basketball team started the season strong with a pair of victories at the JustAGame Crossover in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Huskies 73, Tritons 69
The Huskies defeated the Tritons, 73-69, Saturday at the Justagame Fieldhouse. Sophomore guard Jesse Napgezek and freshman guard Kayden Schultz combined for 48 points to lift the Huskies to a 2-0 weekend to begin the season.
“This group has a lot of fight in them,” Huskies coach Josh Buettner said. “We have a lot to learn, but we’re happy to come home with two wins.”
Similar to Friday’s win, the Huskies trailed at halftime and used a big second 20 minutes to secure the win.
Trailing by 10 with 9:45 left in the game, Michigan Tech started its comeback. It started with back-to-back buckets by Shultz, followed by a Napgezek fast-break layup.
The Tritons scored, and then Napgezek scored another two before back-to-back threes by Schultz to put Michigan Tech in front for the first time in the second half with 6:31 on the clock.
Missouri-St. Louis regained its lead, but Napgezek hit a trey and then added a pair of free throws to regain the lead with 1:57 left. Schultz scored free throws for a two-point lead with 1:24 left, and Napgezek scored the final field goal with 59 seconds left for a four-point margin. He then sealed the win with a pair of free throws with a second left in the game.
The Huskies shot 56.5% in the second half and were 5-for-11 from three. They outscored the Titans 42-33 in the final 20 minutes.
Napgezek scored a career-high 26 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field. He also led the team with eight rebounds. Schultz added 22 points in 36:57 of court time. He was 8-for-15 from the field, which included 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Ty Fernholz added three 3-pointers.
Missouri-St. Louis was led in scoring by Miles Boland with 19. Jake Hamilton (12) and Abe Nayou (10) were also in double figures.
Huskies 79, Warriors 72
The Huskies began its 2026-27 season with a 79-72 victory over Winona State Friday at the Justagame Fieldhouse. The Huskies outscored the Warriors 53-37 in the second half.
“I’m really proud of our group. After a nervous first half, we really played tough and intense in the second half,” Buettner said. “We got a ton of contributions up and down the lineup.”
Tech was down six midway through the second half before back-to-back jumpers by Fernholz and Napgezek. Freshman guard Anthony Richardson scored on a fast break a couple possessions later while adding a free throw on an and-one, and the game was tied at 51. Fernholz nailed a three with 6:47 left to give the Black and Gold their first lead.
Tied at 62 with 2:04 remaining, Fernholz drilled back-to-back three-pointers to put Michigan Tech in front for good, and then the Huskies buried 11 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Warriors led by as many as 13 in the first half, shooting over 51% from the floor and allowing only eight field goals for the Huskies. They outscored Michigan Tech 22-8 in the paint and 21-9 from the bench.
Napgezek scored a game-high 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Schultz went for 17 points in his Michigan Tech debut, and Fernholz finished with 15 points.
The Warriors got 17 points from Tyler Mason, 14 from Kaiden Space, and 13 from Ryan Heise. Winona State finished the game at 51% from the field but couldn’t overcome 25 points from the charity stripe by the Huskies.
Up next
Michigan Tech plays a pair of home games next weekend, hosting Concordia-St. Paul Thursday and Minnesota-Duluth Saturday.