NMU Men’s B-Ball loses at Northwood

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team fell 81-48 at Northwood University on Saturday (Jan. 26) afternoon. The Wildcats placed three players in double figures but were outscored by 17 points in the first half and 16 in the second.

Junior forward Matthew Craggs led the ‘Cats with 12 points on the day. Sophomore forward Kendall Jackson and freshman guard Stephen Pelkofer added 10 each. Jackson also added seven rebounds while sophomore guard Quinten Calloway totaled nine points and five rebounds.

NMU falls to 4-14 overall and 3-11 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Northwood improves to 7-11 overall and 6-8 in conference play.

Northwood opened the game with an 18-5 run seven and a half minutes after tipoff and led by 17 (41-24) at the break.

The home team scored seven straight points to open the second half before the Green and Gold made a run to cut into the 24-point lead.

Jackson had an old-fashioned three-point play with a dunk and free throw followed by a jumper and three-pointer from Calloway. Sophomore guard Spencer Huss added another trey and freshman center Matt Iverson buried a pair of free throws to cap off the 13-5 run.

Northwood finished the game on a 28-11 run. Wes Wilcox poured in 29 points for the Timberwolves, shooting 11-for-15 from the field. Booker Stoudemire added 14 points while Will Bowles added 11.

NMU shot 43.6 percent (17-for-39) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-for-12) from beyond the three-point line.

Northwood was 50 percent (27-for-54) from the field and 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point territory. The home team turned 16 NMU turnovers into 21 points and had 12 points on offensive rebounds.

Northern returns home for one game next weekend against U.P.-rival Michigan Tech.  Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday in the first meeting of the season between the two teams.