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The North Wind

The North Wind

The North Wind

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Chloe Everson
Chloe Everson
Sports Editor

Hi! My name is Chloe and I am a fourth-year senior here at NMU. I am a Public Relations major and have always enjoyed sports. I love being outdoors, shopping, and drinking coffee at all hours of the...

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The North Wind is an independent student publication serving the Northern Michigan University community. It is partially funded by the Student Activity Fee. The North Wind digital paper is published daily during the fall and winter semesters except on university holidays and during exam weeks. The North Wind Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the student body, faculty, administration and area media.

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Men’s basketball drops away games

The NMU men’s basketball team is still searching for their first win of the New Year after losing two close conference games last weekend.

On Thursday, Jan. 20, the ’Cats (1-9 GLIAC, 6-11 overall) lost 70-62 to No. 15 Grand Valley (10-1 GLIAC, 15-3 overall). Assistant coach Malcolm Fields thought the game came down to crunch time plays.

“It was a tough game. Grand Valley is a well-coached team,” Fields said. “It came down to making plays down the stretch and they made the plays.”

The ’Cats shot 54.8 percent from the field, nearly 10 percent higher than the Lakers, but Grand Valley shot 25 free throws compared to just nine for Northern. The ’Cats were behind four at halftime, but a 12-4 run to start the second half helped Grand Valley extend their lead to double figures. The Lakers also had a 9-0 run in the second half to fight off the Wildcat attack. Freshman forward Matt Craggs said he thought the team played well, despite the defensive lapse.

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“We played well for the most part,” Craggs said. “We just had a couple of defensive breakdowns.”

Junior center Jared Benson led the team with 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Matt Everson, DeAndre Taylor and Mylan Murphy all added 10 points to round out the scoring for the ’Cats.

On Saturday, Jan. 22, the Wildcats were in Big Rapids to take on the Ferris State Bulldogs (9-2 GLIAC, 13-5 overall) and lost another close one, 70-63. Fields said the game came down to Ferris State’s experience.

“They were a team full of seniors, and they played like it,” said Fields. “It came down to experience at the end of the game, and the experience won.”

The Wildcats held Ferris State to only 36.2 percent shooting but were unable to keep them off the free throw line. The Bulldogs shot 36 free throws as NMU committed 27 team fouls. Fields said he thinks the team needs more consistency but is seeing progress in the players’ mindsets.

“Our problem has been inconsistency throughout the year,” said Fields. “Our biggest thing now is trying to get each player on the team to come with that big game mentality, to come as if it is the last game of the season and lay it all out on the line. That’s the thing we’ve been trying to get to all season and it’s slowly coming.”

Junior forward DeAndre Taylor led the ’Cats with 14 points. Sophomore forward Mylan Murphy chipped in 11, and sophomore guard Martin Gross also added 11. GLIAC player of the week Justin Keenan led the Bulldogs with 31 points.

This upcoming weekend, the Wildcats are back home as they host a pair of GLIAC games at the Berry Events Center. The Hillsdale Chargers (8-2 GLIAC, 14-2 overall) take on the ’Cats Thursday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m., the Wildcats host Northwood University (4-6 GLIAC, 6-11 overall). Fields expects tough games from both opponents.

“This is the great thing about the GLIAC conference, every game is a big game, you can’t take a night off,” Fields said. “We’re going to take it game by game; right now Hillsdale is our main focus.”

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