HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team saw Jesse Napgezek tie his career-high with 18 points while holding Saginaw Valley State without a 3-pointer in a gritty 62-52 decision to complete the series sweep at the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday.
Behind Napgezek, Dawson Nordgaard (15) and Marcus Tomashek (14) also reached double-figure scoring. Nordgaard shot an efficient 7-12 from the field while Nate Abel led the team with eight rebounds and four assists.
Michigan Tech earns its fifth GLIAC weekend sweep on the season for an overall ledger of 20-4 and an 11-3 record in the GLIAC. Saginaw Valley State falls to an 11-11 overall standing and a 5-9 record in the loop.
"I think there was pretty good defense played in the first half. Saginaw played differently than we were expecting and guarded the 3-point line well," said Michigan Tech head coach Josh Buettner. "Dawson was a huge presence for us and Jesse was a big-time player for us today, creating some advantages when our shots weren't falling. Probably the 3-pointer of the game was by Schaminda and that was huge as well."
Both teams only hit one field goal through the first media break while firing three 3-point attempts to open the game in a 2-2 affair (15:32).
By the 11:39 mark, the Huskies had an 8-2 lead with a 6-0 run from a dunk by Napgezek, a layup by Smith and a hook shot from Nordgaard while holding the Cardinals to 8.3 percent from the field (1-12).
The Huskies were dominant in the paint midway through the first half, earning 12 points in the paint with a follow-up dunk by Nordgaard, giving the Huskies a 17-4 lead with 8:24 to play
Napgezek snapped a 9-0 SVSU run with an and-one in transition to make it a seven-point advantage (20-13) with under five minutes to play in the first half.
Nordgaard drew the third foul on SVSU's big man Kevonne Taylor to put the Huskies in the bonus for the final three minutes of the opening frame to see the Black & Gold head into halftime with a six-point lead off of two free throws by Napgezek and a fastbreak jumper by Tomashek (27-21).
The duo of Nordgaard and Napgezek led the way with nine points apiece, highlighted by a slam dunk by Napgezek and a one-handed putback by Nordgaard while drawing a foul for an and-one.
Josh Terrian hit the first 3-pointer of the game at the 17:07 mark in the second half to put the Huskies back up by five points in a contest that would hover around a five-point affair for the majority of the period.
With 9:58 to play, the Cardinals got a putback layup by Marquese Josephs to tie the contest at 41-all, before the Huskies would capitalize on a basket in transition, with Abel finding Matt Schmainda for an uncontested 3-pointer to retake the lead.
The momentum swung back in favor of the home team as Nordgaard and Schmainda got points in the paint on back-to-back possessions to take a seven-point edge with eight minutes to play.
Tomashek pushed the lead with a 4-point play, drawing a foul on a 3-pointer in front of the Huskies bench to deflate the Cardinals, and ultimately led by as many as 10 points down the stretch off of two free throws with 2:30 to play before hitting the final two free throws on the day, deciding the contest at 62-52.
Taylor had a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds as Josephs added 12 points.
Up Next
Michigan Tech takes on four consecutive road contests next week, traveling to Purdue Northwest on Thursday and Wayne State on Saturday.
