Even though the NMU men’s basketball team ended its seven-game losing skid this past weekend, head coach Dean Ellis said the team is still fighting an uphill battle.
“Well, road wins are big anytime, and when you get a couple it feels like more than just two wins in some ways,” he said. “And all of a sudden we’re in a race to get in the tournament, and if we get really hot who knows what is going to happen with us in the national tournament, too.”
After defeating the Ashland Eagles (9-11, 7-9) on Thursday 75-67, the ‘Cats stayed hot and were able to beat the Tiffin Dragons (1-15, 2-19) 77-58 on Saturday.
Now the Wildcats (11-10 overall, 6-10 GLIAC) find themselves sitting in fifth place in the GLIAC north. NMU is two games behind Michigan Tech, and for the ‘Cats to make the tournament they will have to advance to fourth place in the division.
Junior guard Chris Warner said even though NMU may have to win out, the team is going to use these two wins as a springboard into the future.
“The odds are stacked against us, but I think we have a good chance,” he said. “But we can’t stop now and we basically have no choice, so we have to go out fighting.”
The next battle for the ‘Cats is Thursday night against the Grand Valley State Lakers (15-6, 10-6). Last time NMU squared off against the Lakers, Grand Valley came out hard, and held a 14-point lead 17 minutes into the game. NMU rallied and pulled within two points before the end of the half.
In the end the Lakers snuck away with the victory at 64-56 after capitalizing on their free throws in the late second half.
Ellis said his team needs to play hard for two full halves this time around.
“We did a lot of good things,” he said. “And we’re feeling good about the way we played and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Redshirt freshman Jared Benson said the Lakers are never an easy opponent, especially on the road.
“They’re going to pack the place like they always do,” he said. “But we feed off their energy just as much as if it was our fans. I think we can do it, and we should have beaten them here.”
Warner added that Northern needs confidence to go on the road and beat the second best team in the league. He also stated that Northern is playing its best right now.
“We are very dangerous. We move the ball well,” he said. “We trust each other and those things get you wins. I think people are realizing that, even though it may be late in the season.”
Senior guard Tyler Kazmierkoski has been playing his best ball as of late and was awarded the GLIAC Player of the Week award after scoring 20 points against Ashland and 26 against Tiffin.
Ellis said this is the perfect time for, not only Kazmierkoski, but all the seniors to be playing at their best.
“At this time of the year when your seniors start playing well those teams step up and start playing well, he said. “I’m sure that is going on a little bit with the hockey team, and teams across the country that are playing well and it certainly is big for us.”
NMU will try to continue its drive for the GLIAC playoffs starting tonight, Thursday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. against Grand Valley in Allendale, Mich. The ‘Cats will follow this game with another matchup on Saturday against Ferris State (11-10, 9-7) at 3 p.m. in Big Rapids, Mich.
Ellis said he knows the road ahead is tough for his team, but he is confident they will be ready to play.
“Obviously we got a tough schedule,” he said. “And Grand Valley and Ferris won’t be easy on the road, but we’ve actually played better on the road this season.
