MTU Men dominate GVSU in 69-51 victory
Courtesy of MTU Athletics
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team held Grand Valley to 13 first half points in a 69-51 win Saturday (Feb. 9).
The Huskies dominated the first half shooting 55-percent from both the field (12-22) and from behind the arc (6-11). GVSU shot 32-percent (6-19) from the field and 11-percent (1-9) from deep.
Sophomore Ben Stelzer single handily out-scored the Lakers scoring 14 in the first half. He made five 3-pointers in the contest including four in the first half. He finished with a game-high 21 points and three assists.
The Tech lead grew to as many as 25 points in the second half thanks in large part to senior Ali Haidar who scored 13 of his 20 points over the final 20 minutes. He shot 7-of-12 from the field, made all five free throw attempts, and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Lakers clawed back to within 11 points with five minutes to go, but the Huskies closed the game on a 13-6 run for the win.
“I was very pleased with the win tonight,” said head coach Kevin Luke. “We executed defensively as well as we did offensively.”
Tech finished with a 26-15 advantage in bench points thanks to nine points from sophomore Phil Romback. Freshman Jordan Chartier and junior Austin Armga each chipped in eight.
Ryan Majerle was the only Laker in double figures with 10 points.
Tech turned the ball over a season-low four times and forced 11 Grand Valley turnovers.
“That was a good focused effort against a good club,” said Luke regarding the team’s four turnovers.
Tech (15-6, 12-5) will play at Wayne State Thursday (Feb. 14).