NMU Men’s B-Ball defeats Lake Erie
Courtesy of NMU Athletics
MARQUETTE, Mich. The Northern Michigan University mens basketball team earned a sweep over Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South opponents over weekend with a 66-52 victory over the Lake Erie College Storm on Saturday (Jan. 5) from the Berry Events Center. The Wildcats had four players in double figures for the second game in a row and held the Storm to only 16 first half points.
With the win, the Cats are now 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the GLIAC, winning three of their last four conference games.
NMU led 28-16 at the intermission. Sophomore guard Quinten Calloway led with 10 points while senior forward TJ Cameron had six. The Cats shot 42.1 percent from the field and held the Storm to 30.4 percent.
Lake Erie (4-7, 1-6 GLIAC) used a 14-3 run to get back into the game midway through the second half sparked by three treys and pressure defense. The NMU lead was cut to 39-32 with 12:27 left.
The Cats answered with a 13-3 run on a dunk by junior forward Scooter Johnson, three layups and five free throws to regain control of the game with an 18-point lead (66-48) with 1:25 remaining.
Calloway had a team-high 16 points with eight coming from the charity stripe. Junior forward Matthew Craggs has now scored in double figures in 11-of-12 games this season with 14 points. He has also had five rebounds.
Cameron added 12 points while Johnson finished with 10. Sophomore guard Spencer Huss was a spark off the bench with a career-high seven rebounds and three points.
NMU finished the game shooting 54.3 percent from the field, including 6-of-15 from three-point territory. Free throw shooting was also a factor as the Cats made 22-of-30.
Riley Thomas had a game-high 17 points to lead the Storm. Rich Austin added eight.
LEC shot 38 percent from the field and 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from deep.
Northern hits the road next weekend for a pair of GLIAC games at Grand Valley State and Ferris State.