MIDLAND, Mich. -- The Michigan Tech men's basketball team had good balance on offense and a strong defensive effort to gain a 66-57 victory at Northwood today. The Huskies moved to 11-10 overall and 6-6 in league play with the win. In addition, they moved into a tie for second place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division standings.

Field goal shooting proved to be the difference in the contest as Tech finished at 53 percent compared to 39 percent for the hosts.

The score was 30-28 in favor of MTU at halftime after a very evenly-played opening 20 minutes. Both teams made half their attempts from the floor in the half.

After Northwood gained a 35-34 advantage at the 16:28 mark of the second stanza, Tech went on an 11-0 run to take control of the contest. Kris Alpers had a dunk and a layup during the run. The gap grew to as many as 16 (57-41) at the 4:49 mark before the Timberwolves mounted a comeback.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Aaron Simpson got NU within 60-54 with 55 seconds to play. MTU's Radayl Richardson then nailed four straight free throws to secure the win.

"We shot 53 percent in the game and when you can do that, you're going to be pretty successful," said head coach Kevin Luke. "We executed our game plan very well in the second half, and that's a credit to our guys."

Besides the field goal shooting advantage, Tech grabbed 36 rebounds compared to 32 for the hosts.

Richardson led the Huskies with 17 points. Tim Strom added 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Two of Strom's assists led to dunks by teammates. Ed Ross had one of those dunks as part of his three points to go with eight rebounds.

Michigan Tech will return home from a three-week absence to face Gannon on Thursday (Feb. 1). Opening tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Notes: Tech is now tied with Northern Michigan, which is also 6-6, at second place in the standings ... The Huskies are 9-4 when shooting 40 percent or better from the field and 10-3 when it holds its opponents under 40 percent.