This past weekend, NMU lost to ranked Ferris State and Lake Superior State University. The scores for the weekend were 79-85 and 49-79. Ferris State is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation, with LSSU following close behind them at No. 14.
The Wildcats were on the road this past stretch of games, but they return home for this weekend. The team’s current record is 12-6, with a 6-4 standing in the GLIAC.
To start the weekend, the Wildcats traveled to Big Rapids to face off against Ferris State in a hard-fought game that went back and forth until the very end. This game was notable for NMU because they put up their third-highest point total since putting up 83 points against Northland in 2021.
Dylan Kuehl led NMU with 19 points on offense, followed by Sam Privet with 12 and Julien Smith with 11 points. Cal Klesmit added nine points and a career-high seven rebounds to the board. The Wildcats went 28-69 in field goal attempts compared to FSU’s 29-60.
NMU had several leads throughout the game, however the last eight minutes of play were decisive. A shot from Klesmit gave NMU their last lead of the game at 73-71. FSU took the lead back, extending the score 77-73. The Wildcats missed several key shots towards the end of game, even going 8-10 in the final two minutes.
The following game against Lake Superior State University was even more challenging. The Lakers, ranked No. 14 in the nation, dominated start to finish. The Wildcats never held the lead, shooting 18-56. The Lakers went on to connect 15-30 from beyond the arc, while NMU went 4-25.
Privet led the team in scoring with 13 points, while Kuehl added 10. At the half, the score of the game was 45-27. The Lakers’ largest lead came late in the game at 73-38, and NMU was never able to recover from this massive difference. The game ended with a final score of 79-49.
Despite the difficult weekend, a big positive came out of it. Biggie Luster hit 1,000 career points following the game against Ferris State. Luster added 8 points to the board during the nail-biting game to reach the milestone.
When asked about the achievement, Luster said, “Scoring 1,000 points is an unreal feeling, and it’s always been a dream of mine. I can only thank the man above for allowing me to reach this milestone. This season has been good. We are halfway done with games, so we are looking to make a run to be in a good spot for the national tournament. Go Cats!”
The team faces off against GVSU and Davenport this upcoming weekend at home.
