Huskies score the Lion's share Wednesday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Finlandia (2-13) | 15 | 20 | 35 |
|
Michigan Tech (4-11) | 55 | 48 | 103 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Seven players scored in double figures and Michigan Tech ran away early from Finlandia University 103-35 Wednesday night in non-conference basketball at SDC Gymnasium.
Freshman Nate Abel led the way with 13 points as the Huskies set a new MTU single game record for fewest points allowed to an opponent (39, previous vs. UW-Stout, 2018). Brad Simonsen and Dawson Nordgaard came off the bench for 12 points apiece, while Marcus Tomashek and Dan Gherezgher each posted 11. Tyler Robarge and Eric Carl each put up 10 points.
Pete Calcaterra came down with a career high 11 rebounds and Jason Waterman notched a career best nine points after shooting 4-for-6 from the floor.
"We've just been trying to get better on both sides of the ball," Waterman said. "We made some adjustments early in the game to switch some guard-on-guard screens. It's been a focal point in practice to be better defensively, not get beat to the rim, and force them to kick it out and beat us at the 3-point line instead. I thought we executed that today."
"The main thing we wanted to do was defend well and try not to give up anything easy," said head coach Josh Buettner. "Holding Finlandia to 35 points was in my opinion a good effort by our guys. We still had a few too many turnovers but we shared the ball and 22 assists was nice to see from our group."
Gherezgher, Hobson, and Tomashek all hit open threes to give Michigan Tech a 13-3 edge at the first media break of the first half. Connecting 9 of 16 from the floor, the Huskies extended the advantage to 25-7. Gherezgher made a reverse after running the floor and Carl contributed off the bench.
Tech led 55-15 at halftime after shooting 55-percent (22-40), including 8-for-19 from downtown. Coach Buettner continued to extend the bench in the second half. Adam Hobson threw down a memorable two-handed dunk in transition and Nordgaard made an impact with a smooth tip in at the rim.
For Negaunee native Jason Waterman, 11 minutes off the bench was also a career high after returning from various injury setbacks over the past three seasons in a Husky uniform.
"Wats has just been awesome," Buettner said. "He's had some tough luck over the last couple years but he keeps battling and is always a phenomenal teammate. He knows the scout whether he's playing or on the sideline and it was great to see him get rewarded tonight."
"It's been a crazy three years," Waterman said. "It's been a daily process of learning how to score at this level against guys who are bigger and stronger. I'm just letting it come to me, not trying to overplay and trying to make the smart plays."
The Huskies outscored the Lions 52-8 in the paint and hauled in 51 rebounds (eight short of the team record) compared to Finlandia's 20.
Greg Fuchs led the Lions with six points as FinnU dropped to 2-13 overall.
Michigan Tech (4-11, 1-5 GLIAC) returns to conference play Saturday when they travel to Northern Michigan (13-3, 5-1) for a 1 p.m. tipoff. Wednesday night's win snapped a three-game losing skid for MTU as the team improved to 4-2 at home.
