The men’s basketball team hit the road last weekend, resulting in a couple of losses to Lake Superior State University and Northwood University.

The team faced LSSU on Thursday, Jan. 24 in a 44-74 loss, where the scoreboard did not show the progress that the ’Cats made in the second half.

NMU lost to the Lakers after a first half where the ’Cats scored 17 points in comparison to the Laker’s 41 points. The Wildcats matched up to Lake Superior State in the second period.

NMU scored 27 points to keep up to LSSU’s 33 and grabbed 19 rebounds in close comparison to the Laker’s 20 during the second half.

The ’Cats also scored 10 second-chance points over Lake Superior State’s seven.

Head coach Doug Lewis said he was proud of the guys for their hard work in the face of adversity.

“We competed second half,” Lewis said. “We only had five guys on Thursday and they competed and did the best they could, they had the effort and I’m fine with that. They put forth maximum effort.”

The Wildcats were outscored down low, where NMU had only 18 points, and allowed the Lakers to drop in 47 points.

A majority of the difference occurred in the first period, when the Lakers scored 28 points from the paint.

Sophomore forward Kendall Jackson contributed on the boards, tallying 11 rebounds for the team, eight of which he grabbed in the second half.

Freshman center Matt Iverson also added five rebounds, while putting in a career high 19 points for the ’Cats.

Thirteen of those points came from the second half. Iverson also contributed two blocks for the team.

Iverson said that the team motivation for the second half came primarily from the desire to win.

“We picked up the intensity second half just trying to come out and win,” Iverson said. “Our goal for the rest of the season is to be undefeated at home, starting with Tech.”

Saturday, Jan. 26, the ’Cats record sunk to 3-11 in the GLIAC conference and 4-14 overall when they were defeated by the Northwood Timberwolves 48-81.

NMU started ahead in the first period after Jackson hit a three-point shot at 19:13 on the clock. The ’Cats allowed the Timberwolves to drop 10 three-point shots. In the first period alone, the Wildcats only put up two shots from behind the arc.

Jackson hit the boards for seven rebounds as he led the team for the fourth straight game in a row. He also added 10 points for the team.

Junior forward Matt Craggs led the ’Cats in points with 12, and freshman guard Stephen Pelkofer chipped in 10 points, as well. Sophomore guard Quinten Calloway had the lone steal for the Wildcats. Calloway came up with a solid game overall, adding nine points and five rebounds. He also tallied three assists for the books.

Calloway said the team seemed to have little energy against Northwood, which played a big factor in the outcome of the game.

“We were real lackadaisical,” Calloway said. “This weekend we need to bring momentum. It’s our rival game. For the rest of the season, we need to take it one game at a time and try to get some wins.”

The Wildcats suit up this weekend at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Berry Events Center to face their rival, Michigan Tech University.

“It’s our rival game this weekend,” Lewis said. “We have a whole week to get prepared. The guys should be ready to play.”