SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Michigan Tech claimed its first men's basketball road victory since Dec. 11 with a 78-62 triumph at Lake Superior State today. The Huskies (12-10, 7-8 GLIAC) received 19 points from Ali Haidar and 18 more from Mike Hojnacki to gain the season split with the Lakers (14-9, 8-8 GLIAC).

Tech shot at a 56 percent clip while holding the Lakers to 36 percent. Free throws were also critical for the Black and Gold, as they made 25-of-29 compared to 12-of-20 for LSSU.

Neither team got into any offensive rhythm in the first half. The score was 18-13 after two Laker free throws at the 9:06 mark, and nobody scored for nearly five minutes. Mike Hojnacki's free throw broke the stalemate. Hojnacki then hit a jumper and two more free throws to stretch the advantage to seven. Austin Armga added two 3-pointers in the final 2:30 for a 31-23 lead at the break.

Tech scored the first six points of the second half for a 14-point margin. The gap was as large as 16 with 8:40 to go before Micah Hudson buried back-to-back 3-pointers. LSSU closed to within eight points on three separate occasions. The Huskies made 9-of-10 free throws in the final three minutes to close out the win.

"This is an important win in terms of the rest of our season," said head coach Kevin Luke. "This win gives us some confidence that we can win games on the road.

"I was really happy with our defense. This is a good offensive team in Lake State, and to hold them to 62 is awesome."

Haidar poured in 13 of his 19 points after halftime and finished 6-of-9 from the field. Hojnacki missed just one shot (6-of-7) en route to his best game since mid-January.

Two other Huskies scored in double figures in Armga (11) and Alex Culy (10). Point guard Don Fowler dished out six assists without a turnover in 37 minutes.

Tech held a 35-30 rebounding advantage, but committed six more turnovers (16-to-10). Free throws and field goal percentages were the big differences on the stat sheet.

Michigan Tech will play its final two home games next week beginning Thursday (Feb. 17) with a 5:30 tipoff vs. Ashland.