HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech had no answer for Northwood on the boards or for Timberwolves' junior Dorian Pierce in a 67-52 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball loss today at the SDC Gym. The visitors held a 40-25 rebounding advantage and Pierce tallied 28 points to help NU improve to 3-1 (1-1 GLIAC). The Huskies are now 1-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

"We didn't defend, rebound or shoot," said head coach Kevin Luke. "We were much too passive in the first half, and when we got it close in the second we didn't could get the go-ahead score."

Northwood led by seven with 3:23 remaining in the opening half before five straight points from Mike Hojnacki cut the deficit to 29-27. The T'wolves finished the half on a 7-2 run with Pierce scoring five of his 17 first-half points during the spurt.

The halftime score was 36-29.

Tech gave up just four points through the first 10 minutes of the second stanza, but never grabbed the lead. The Black and Gold had nine possessions in which it could have tied the score or gone ahead, but only got within 40-39.

Northwood scored the next five points for a 45-39 advantage. The Huskies remained within four by the 7:30 mark before the Timberwolves pulled away. A 3-pointer by NU's Booker Stoudmire at just past the three-minute mark made it a 12-point game and sealed the Tech's fate.

Ali Haidar scored a Michigan Tech team-high 13 points. Hojnacki added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Seven other Tech players scored points, but none had more than six.

Final shooting percentages were 43 for Northwood and 37 for Tech. The Huskies went 3-of-17 (18 percent) from 3-point range.

Michigan Tech will be off until next Saturday (Dec. 12). The Huskies travel to arch rival Northern Michigan for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.