Men's Basketball Comeback Bid Falls Short at GVSU

Video: Coach Luke Interview

ALLENDALE, Mich. — Michigan Tech roared back from an 18-point deficit to within four before falling at Grand Valley State 64-53 in GLIAC men's basketball today. The Huskies used a 16-4 run in the second half to get back into the game.

Tech scored 34 points in the final 15 minutes of the game after putting up just 19 in the first 25 minutes.

Back-to-back steals by Kyle Monroe started the Huskies' run. Then Bryan Heath's 3-pointer with 13:20 showing pulled the visitors within 39-30. Another Heath triple and a Kyle Stankowski basket cut the gap to 41-35 with 11:00 to play.

Tech pulled as close as 48-44 with seven minutes to go before Zach West nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the game to change the momentum.

The margin was still six under four minutes to play before two straight turnovers allowed the hosts to regain their 10-point lead. The Lakers made four straight free throws to hold off the Huskies in the final minute.

"We saw some encouraging things today," said Tech coach Kevin Luke. "We got down too far to come back, but I think we learned more about ourselves that we can play with a really good team when we do things the right way."

Heath was the game's high scorer with 15 points. He was just 2-of-11 from the field, but made 9-of-10 at the foul line including all six of his attempts in the second half.

Monroe and Stankowski each finished with 10 points. Luke Heller posted eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Tech shot 36 percent from the field while the Lakers made 37 percent of their shots. The Huskies committed 15 turnovers compared to GVSU's nine.

Michigan Tech (5-9 overall, 4-6 GLIAC) has played each of its last four games on the road. It will return home to the SDC Gym on Thursday (Jan. 21) to host Hillsdale at 7:30 p.m.