Wildcat Men Sweep Northwood With 74-63 Victory Sunday
Courtesy: Northern Michigan University Athletics
MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team completed the sweep over Northwood University with a 74-63 victory over the Timberwolves, Sunday afternoon. The win improves the Wildcats to 6-5 on the season and was their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the season.
At the first media timeout of the contest, the Wildcats trailed the Timberwolves, 6-3, behind a three-point shot from Max Bjorklund to start the game. Shortly after the break, Alec Fruin tied things up with a quick three-point jumper, set up by Justin Kuehl.
The Timberwolves scored five straight to make it 11-6 but a shooting foul drawn by Tre Harvey sent him to the line where he sank both shots for the 11-8 score.
Bjorklund tied things up at 13-13 when Dolapo Olayinka found him wide open beyond the arc for the three-point shot.
Harvey weaved his way through traffic in the paint to get his Wildcats back within one, down 18-17, as NMU called their first timeout of the contest.
The Wildcats claimed their first lead of the game since their opening basket with 7:14 to play in the first half when Olayinka hit a jump shot in the paint to make it 21-20.
Sam Schultz‘s tip-in basket made it a six-point game with just under five minutes to play before Justin Kuehl made the block of the night to give NMU the ball back as Bjorklund extended their lead to eight, up 28-20.
At the half, the Wildcats led 36-30 over the Timberwolves courtesy of a last-second shot from Olayinka who led the team through the first 20 minutes, posting 13 points in the half.
The Wildcats went up 13 points early in the second half, as the men jumped out to a 49-36 lead with five minutes elapsed in the half.
NMU continued their dominant second half efforts, taking the 17-point lead, 60-43, with a shot from Sam Shultz out front.
With 6:22 left to play, the Timberwolves cut the lead to eight points, 60-52, with a pair of made free throws.
The Wildcats ended the NU scoring run with 5:30 still to go in regulation when Harvey banked a shot off the backboard for the 62-52 lead.
The team finished the afternoon off with 74 points for their first weekend sweep of the 2020-21 season.
Olayinka went eight-for-11 from the field to lead the team in points with 25. With 11 rebounds in the game as well, he led the team in the category and picked up his third double-double of the year.
Two other Wildcats registered double-figure performances as Bjorklund picked up 20 points, including a team-high three shots from beyond the three-point arc, and Harvey who had 10 points against NU Sunday.