Chartier carries Tech past Northwood

HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech held Northwood to 17 first-half points and Jordan Chartier scored a career-high 23 points en route to a 65-54 GLIAC men’s basketball victory at the SDC Gym tonight. Down 20 with four minutes to go, the Timberwolves battled back within eight before succumbing.

“It’s nice to get an ugly win,” said Tech coach Kevin Luke. “Northwood played hard to the end, and we lost focus a little bit.

“Our defense and rebounding were good all game, and that’s what allowed us to get the ‘W.'”

Tech (13-4, 10-3 GLIAC) held a 27-17 lead at half after the visitors shot just 8-of-30 (27 percent) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

Chartier hit four first-half 3-pointers and had 15 total points at the break as the Huskies enjoyed a 10-point lead.

Michigan Tech’s defense continued in the second half, not allowing NU to reach 20 points until 17:08 remained in the game.

Ben Stelzer, who had just one point in the first half, got going a little bit midway through the second stanza with a trey and a deuce for a 45-29 lead with 12 minutes to play.

The margin reached the 20-point mark on Dillon Gordon’s corner three ball at the 5:40 mark. The Huskies then got sloppy handling the ball, turning it over four times in the next three minutes to allow NU to get back into the game.

The Timberwolves (11-8, 7-6 GLIAC) pulled within 62-54 at the 1:08 mark, but that’s as close as they’d get.

Tech shot 67 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the contest compared to 31 percent for the visitors. The Black and Gold also enjoyed a 39-30 rebounding edge.

The home team finished with twice as many turnovers as Northwood (16-8).

“We didn’t execute our offense very well, and we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball moving forward,” added Luke.

Chartier’s 23 points came as he made 8-of-13 from the field (6-of-11 from behind the arc). Stelzer finished with 11 points on just seven shots. Luke Heller also reached double figures with 10 points.

Kyle Stankowski’s 10 rebounds were a big factor in Tech’s plus-nine margin in boards.

Michigan Tech will continue its three-game home stand with a matchup against U.P. rival Lake Superior State on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 3 p.m. Each of the last two games at the SDC Gym vs. the Lakers has been decided by one point.

(Information/Photo Courtesy of MTU Athletics)