The No. 10 Northern Michigan men’s basketball team fought two close games this weekend, splitting a pair of road games while in the thick of the GLIAC title race.
Northern fell 85-80 at No. 23 Grand Valley State on Thursday before responding with a 77-63 win at Davenport on Saturday, moving to 19-3 overall and 10-2 in conference play. With Grand Valley also earning a win over Michigan Tech, the Wildcats remain tied atop the league standings entering the final stretch of the season.
Thursday’s matchup against Grand Valley was tightly contested from start to finish. The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes, with neither team able to overcome the other. NMU trailed just 41-39 at halftime and briefly grabbed a 45-43 lead early in the second half, but the Lakers regained control and held the point average the rest of the way, despite several Wildcat pushes.
Head coach Matt Majkrzak said defense was the deciding factor.
“Statistically it was one of their worst defensive games of the year and they still beat us,” Majkrzak said. “That tells the story. We were that bad on defense. We just didn’t guard them.”
The game was choppy, as the teams combined 47 fouls and 61 free throws. Northern struggled to find consistent offensive power, shooting 37.1% from the field, even though it attempted 16 more shots than the Lakers. Grand Valley capitalized on efficiency, shooting 54.3%, and held advantages in fast-break points (12-0) and points in the paint (32-26).
Cal Klesmit led NMU with 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers. Dylan Kuehl, Jackson Dudek, and Sam Privet each scored 12 points, and Bennett Basich added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Majkrzak credited Grand Valley’s experience in key moments.
“They made some big-time plays. Their older kids who’ve been around forever stepped up,” he said. “At the same time, we did a billion things wrong that we can fix. If we make 15 less mistakes which we’re capable of, we win the game.”
He also pointed to a larger trend developing this season.
“In the past, if we made 15 mistakes, we lost,” Majkrzak said. “This year, we’ve made 15 mistakes and won too many games. We’ve got to eliminate more of those self-induced mistakes on both sides of the ball.”
Northern responded Saturday at Davenport with the type of finish it lacked two nights earlier. Another competitive first half featured seven ties and nine lead changes, with NMU taking a 41-38 lead into the break. The Panthers stayed on the Wildcat’s tail throughout the second half and cut the score to 66-63 with 2:50 remaining.
This time, the Wildcats closed.
Northern ended the game on an 11-0 run, turning a tense one-possession battle into a convincing win.
“We did make all the big plays down the stretch,” Majkrzak said. “We haven’t been in that many back-and-forth battles, so getting two of them this weekend, I’m hoping we learned a lot more coming out of those games.”
Kuehl led the effort with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Dudek added 15 points. Brooks Hinson scored 11 points, including a three-pointer late, and Privet chipped in ten points and nine rebounds. Klesmit once again facilitated the offense with seven assists.
Northern controlled the game on the glass, holding a 44-28 rebounding advantage and turning 14 offensive rebounds into a 13-6 edge in second-chance points. The performance continued NMU’s season-long trend of dominance on the boards, a key part of its success.
Looking at the bigger picture, Majkrzak believes the formula is clear.
“Our offense has never lost us a game,” he said. “If we can get our defense to be consistently average, we’ve got a chance to do unbelievably special things.”
With the conference race tightening and every possession carrying more weight, Northern returns home next to host Saginaw Valley State as the push toward postseason play heats up.
