Last week, the Wildcats competed in the GLIAC Championship and took the title back to Northern. With the GLIAC win, the team earned a berth into the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament starting later this week. This is the second time in three seasons the Wildcats have been crowned the GLIAC Tournament champions.
“We’ve won three championships; this one was for sure the most fun… We really, really earned this one,” Head coach Matt Majkrzak said.
The team played and won all three games in the tournament, starting off at home against Grand Valley State. Coming into the game, the Wildcats had already defeated Grand Valley twice this season. In this matchup, the Cats got the win 85-72 to advance.
Forward Jackson Dudek recorded 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sam Privet, also a forward, had 10 points and five rebounds.
After hosting and winning against Grand Valley, the Wildcats traveled to Houghton for the rest of the tournament, preparing to face the home team and rival Michigan Tech.
In both previous matchups this season, the Wildcats fell to the Huskies. The first game was a blowout loss for the Cats, while the second was a hard-fought battle that ended in just a three-point defeat.
This game played out similarly to the second meeting, but this time, the Wildcats edged out a one-point victory. The final score at the buzzer was 69-68 in the Wildcats’ favor.
Forward Dylan Kuehl led the team with 26 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
After finally taking down Michigan Tech, the team moved on to the championship game of the tournament against Lake Superior State. Earlier in the season, the Wildcats lost both games against the Lakers. Again, the first game was a big loss for the Cats, with a final score of 79-49. When the team met again the game went into overtime, and Lake Superior State won again, 80-74.
This time, for the GLIAC Championship, the Wildcats dominated early, outscoring the Lakers 40-18 in the first half and coming away with the win. The team was crowned champions when the shot clock reached zero. The final score of the game was 78-63.
Guard Julien Smith finished with 15 points, two rebounds and one assist. Gerald Gittens Jr, also a guard, contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“I mean, talk about a team just rising up to the challenge—we defended with so much passion and made shots,” Coach Majkrzak said.
With the GLIAC tournament title once again under their belts, the Wildcats are headed back to the big dance, the NCAA tournament.
The team enters as the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 seed Michigan Tech in the first round. This will be the fourth time the teams have met this season.
The Wildcats will take on the Huskies this Saturday, March 15, at 1 p.m. in Springfield, Indiana.
