Over 11,000 people packed the Superior Dome for the Superior Dome Showdown basketball game on Sunday, Oct. 13. The NMU men’s basketball team hosted Michigan State University (MSU) in what is considered by some to be the event of the century. NMU Alumnus Tom Izzo, now MSU’s head coach, was a featured guest. Izzo wore the number 10 throughout his time at NMU.
Both coaches were very positive about the game, and shared their thoughts during the postgame press conference.
The Wildcats lost 53-70, however their performance on the court tells a different story. At the end of the first half, the Spartans were leading 31-19, with the Wildcats holding their own defensively. The team was strong offensively throughout the entire game, with eight offensive rebounds compared to the Spartans’ nine. Northern had seven steals during the game, and in the second half, NMU went 14-for-28 in field goal attempts.
Redshirt Junior Jackson Dudek led NMU in scoring with 14 points. Right behind Dudek was Graduate Student Julien Smith with 10 points on the board. Julien also had three rebounds, one personal foul, and four turnovers. Also contributing to NMU’s 53 points was Senior Derek Merwick and Sophomore Brandon Trilli – each adding five points to the scoreboard. During Dylan Kuehl’s 22 minutes on the court, he made two blocks, one assist, and one turnover.
On the MSU side, Jase Richardson went 4-for-4 in field goals, adding 11 points to the scoreboard. Xavier Booker, who played 21 minutes, contributed 10 points, two rebounds, and three blocks. He went 4-for-6 in field goals. Szymon Zapala led MSU in rebounds, with a total of nine during the entire game. He also went 2-for-3 in field goals and 2-for-2 in free throws.
NMU Head Coach Matt Majkrzak reflected in the postgame press conference, saying, “The whole weekend had a dream-like quality to it. Everything was awesome and checked every box of what we were hoping to pull off. A Division II school hosting an event of this magnitude – I don’t know how many could pull it off.”
Majkrzak also mentioned that the team had only had about five practices leading up to the game. “I think, you know, for us, this was the end of the preseason. Up until two years ago, Division II didn’t start practicing until October 15. So we’re going to take tomorrow off and come back Tuesday. That’s October 15, which will be our first practice of the season. So if you look at this as the end of the preseason, I’d say we’re in pretty good shape.”
The basketball team’s first games are in Wisconsin Dells, WI, on November 8-9, where they will face Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis.
