Ashland pulls away late in win vs. NMU

MARQUETTE, Mich. – Northern Michigan University men’s basketball started out strong against Ashland, but a strong second half push from the Eagles led them to a 65-52 victory.  The loss drops Northern Michigan to 5-8 on the year with a 3-4 ledger in conference play, while the Eagles improved to 10-3 on the season with a 4-3 conference record.

A jumper from freshman forward Alex Sorenson gave NMU a 12-10 lead with 8:50 left in the first half.  Ashland would retake the lead in the next possession and wouldn’t surrender their advantage the remainder of the contest.  Ashland pulled ahead by as much as eight at 22-14 with 6:21 in the half, but Northern Michigan cut into the lead at the end of the half to put the score at 30-25.  The first half would see 10 lead changes to go with one tie.

NMU shot the ball well in the half going 10-24 (.417) from the field.  Six different Wildcats recorded points with Sorenson leading the way with seven.

Northern Michigan came out in the second half fast with a layup from senior forward Chavis Mattison and a jumper from sophomore guard Marcus Hall to quickly cut their deficit down to one at 30-29 with 18:58 remaining.  The Eagles then used a 12-3 run to re-extend the lead out to double digits at 42-32 with 12:18 left in the contest.  Ashland was then able to cruise to the end ultimately leading to a 65-52 final.

Northern Michigan outscored the Eagles 14-10 in points after turnovers but were outscored 39-2 by the Ashland bench.  Ashland also held the advantage in rebounds by a tally of 38-22.

Mattison lead the team with 12 points and six rebounds, while freshman guard Jordan Perez chipped in another 11 points.  Senior guard Terry Nash finished the game with nine points, six assists and two steals.

Northern Michigan finishes out the weekend hosting Lake Erie Saturday, January 10 at 3 p.m. in the Berry Events Center.

(Information Courtesy of NMU Athletics)