The Wildcats suffered their third loss in a row at the hands of their rivals in yellow and black. This loss followed a 91-84 defeat to Ferris State and a sobering overtime loss to Lake Superior State (LSSU), 80-74.
Against LSSU, the game was back and forth as there were eight lead changes, with the Lakers holding possession of that lead for 75% of the game. Dylan Kuehl put the team on his back and went to work under the rim, putting up a game-high of 25 points to complement his nine rebounds and six assists.
The game was tied in the first half until LSSU went on a palpable 9-0 run, led by Kingsley Perkins, before heading to the locker room. The Wildcats mounted an 11-point comeback to push the Lakers to overtime, however, it was the free throws that costed them. LSSU, capitalizing on NMU’s six fouls, went 11 of 12 from the line and inevitably closed out the game, dropping the green and gold to a 10-5 conference record.
On Saturday, the team hoped to shake off the tough loss against Ferris State in their last home game of the season. In a familiar fashion, NMU started off slow, as the Bulldogs built a massive lead. And once again, the Cats struggled and fought their way back to keep the game close. The game fell into another tie until NMU snagged a five-point lead, 61-56, with the clock winding down.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs got a second wind, going on an unanswered 11-0 run to make the score 70-68. The game remained close, but Ferris State, seemingly with more energy, pulled away and sealed the win with some free throws. The Cats would drop to 10-6 in the conference, coach Matt Majkrzak feeling that his team was not at the level of play they needed to be.
“We were just a step slow and just kind of sluggish, and a little lethargic… If anything, we should have the advantage at home on a Saturday game. I thought Ferris moved around with more energy,” he said.
And finally, most recently, Majkrzak’s Wildcats experienced another heartbreaking loss, this time in Houghton against the 18-6 Michigan Tech, who sit first in the conference. A familiar trend continued for NMU, as the green and gold fell behind by double digits before halftime.
NMU found momentum toward the end of the game, thanks in part to Dylan Kuehl’s dominant 19-point, 11-rebound performance and Biggie Luster’s instant seven-point stretch off the bench, cutting Michigan Tech’s lead to four. NMU tied up the game, but in the final moments, Tech reclaimed its lead and capitalized on free throws to win 67-64.
The Wildcats now sit 10-7 in the conference after the hard-fought stretch.
