NMU men’s basketball gets first GLIAC win over Malone
MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team had a great weekend, getting their first GLIAC win over Malone at the Berry Events Center on Saturday.
The Wildcats were down 11 at halftime but came out with a vengeance in the second half to hold on for a 68–67 win. Guard Jordan Perez led NMU in scoring with 17 points, shooting 70% from the field. Terry Nash also chipped in with 14 points, including some clutch shots in the final minutes.
“First half we got down but we just stayed together in the locker room. Coach preached that if we want to be a good team, we got to play together and play hard and play defense. We came out in the second half and I’m so proud of my guys…I’m proud of this guy right here and we got the win,” Nash said.
“I was happy to see us finally show a few signs of some resiliency. It’s a good win for that but we’ve got a ways to go yet to find our identity and what we have to do,” coach Bill Sall said.
The Wildcats are now 2–3 on the year and will be on the road next weekend. The team talked about what they can take from this game that will help them build off of their first conference win.
“Focus on winning. We can’t get to high on this win. It’s just one game. We got about 20 more games left in the season…20 more conference games. Long season and we’re going into break soon. We got to get a win next week at Wayne and Findlay and just go into break strong,” Perez said.
“Man, we got to keep working. I think that’s the biggest thing right now. We’re finding our identity but it was a much needed win. I’m just telling you that now. We desperately needed to win this game, just for some confidence from our guys so that we can go into things with a positive,” said Sall.
NMU will be at Wayne State this Thursday and at Findlay on Saturday.