HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Michigan Tech men's basketball team made the plays down the stretch to claim a 74-71 GLIAC victory over Ferris State today at the SDC Gym. The Huskies trailed by five with less than three minutes to play before finishing the game on a 12-4 run to move to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.

Tech struggled on offense in the first half. The Huskies had just 10 points through the first 14 minutes and trailed by as many as 13. The hosts finally got things going with Matt Gaedke's 3-pointer at the 5:04 mark. Tech scored 19 points in the final six minutes of the half and finished things off with Alex Culy's 3-pointer right before halftime. That left the score 38-29 at the break.

The Black and Gold erased their deficit within the first six minutes of the second half and the game was close the rest of the way.

Fourth fouls on FSU's Justin Keenan, the national preseason player of the year, and Darien Gay with more than nine minutes to play put the visitors' two best players on the bench for periods of the second half.

The Huskies were able to take advantage and grab a 57-56 lead with 6:04 to go. Keenan and Gay checked back in and accounted for eight of their next 11 points and a 67-62 FSU edge.

Tech wiped out the margin on its next two possessions. Culy hit a 3-pointer and Ali Haidar split defenders in the post for a three-point play. Keenan put the visitors on top with two free throws, but Tech made six straight foul shots to ice the game. The Bulldogs missed three treys in the final minute that would have tied the game or given them the lead.

"We got the ball inside down the stretch and made our free throws," said head coach Kevin Luke on his team's execution in the final three minutes. "The key to the game I thought was making a couple of baskets to get within 10 before half. That gave us the confidence to come out in the second half.

"This win gives us a big confidence boost going into tomorrow."

Mike Hojnacki paced a balanced Tech offense with 22 points. Haidar added 15 points and a team-high six rebounds. Don Fowler also reached double figures with 13. The senior point guard also had six assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers.

Keenan tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. Gay added 19.

FSU held a 35-26 rebounding advantage. The Huskies stayed in the game by committing just seven turnovers. Both teams shot 46 percent from the floor. Tech made 20-of-24 free throws compared to 15-of-21 for the Bulldogs.

Michigan Tech will return to action tomorrow for a rare Sunday game. The Huskies host No. 11-ranked Grand Valley State at 1 p.m.