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Wednesday May 1, 2024
Huskies Advance To NCAA-II Basketball 'Sweet 16'

Stories, photos courtesy of Michigan Tech University Athletics.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.----
Ben Stelzer's 32 second half points carried the Michigan Tech men's basketball team to its first-ever NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship game. The Huskies defeated No. 12-ranked Indianapolis 82-76 on Sunday at the O'Reilly Events Center on the campus of Drury University to propel the Black and Gold into uncharted territories.

"To be in the tournament is an honor and to be in the regional championship is a sweet honor," Tech coach Kevin Luke said. "It's huge for our program.

"We've had some excellent teams in my 20 years. The old timers built the foundation and these guys are taking it a step further. I'm excited and proud of this team."

The Huskies improved to 24-7 overall and will play top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Drury on Tuesday at 8 p.m. (ET).

Drury defeated Lake Superior State, 79-61, in the other regional semifinal.

"It's a dream come true and it feels great, especially being a team leader," senior Austin Armga said. "Everybody's in it together, and we're just really excited."


The Huskies trailed 52-51 with 7:37 to go. Stelzer then caught fire. After missing six of his first seven shots, he scored Tech's next 21 points and 25 of the final 29 Husky points.

"It was a little frustrating in the first half," Stelzer said. "The shot felt good the whole time. We just had to keep screening and sticking to our systems. They started to fall, and it started to build."

He opened the run with a 3-pointer to give Tech its final lead of the game with 7:02 left. UIndy missed a shot before Stelzer nailed a deep two-pointer to make it a four-point game.

The Greyhounds made a free throw on their offensive possession, before number five in black went back to work with a back-door layup assisted by Luke Heller for a five-point lead with 5:53 on the clock.

After UIndy hit a jumper, Stelzer got by his defender and finished in the lane and then picked up a steal on the defensive possession and called a timeout. He nailed a wide open three in front of the Tech bench after a miscommunication on a defensive switch and then hit one from five feet beyond the arc after another UIndy turnover.

The Huskies' lead was 10, their largest of the half to that point with 4:12 to go.

UIndy (24-5) cut the margin to four with 2:13 to go after a four-point play by Jordan Loyd and a pair of free throws by Reece Cheatham.

From there Stelzer made 10 free throws while Jordan Chartier added four and the Huskies were able to back off as the Greyhounds nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final six-point margin.

Armga carried the scoring load in the first half with 15 points. He scored the first seven for Tech as the Huskies led 9-2 4:27 into the game after a layup by Heller.

Kyle Stankowski checked into the game early in the first half and scored five straight Husky points for a 15-9 lead with 12:34 before halftime.

A 9-0 Husky run with points from Alex Culy and Armga gave Tech its largest lead in the first half at 12. UIndy cut into the margin before the break, making it 33-29.

The Huskies hit only 2-for-11 from three in the first half but held the Greyhounds to 36 percent shooting.

Early in the second half, Indianapolis began to chip away behind the play of Cheatham who hit five 3-pointers in a span of 3:25. The Greyhounds took their first lead of the game with 13:45 to go after a dunk by Brennan McElroy.

The two teams traded leads before Stelzer took over.

Stelzer's 32 points came on 8-for-14 shooting, including 4-for-9 from three and 12-for-12 from the free throw line. He was scoreless in the first half.

Armga finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Stankowski scored a career-high 15
points, making all seven of his shots, and pulling down four rebounds.

"I thought Kyle really came in today and wasn't just a player but a major competitor," said Luke. "He was really good for us. If somebody steps up to be another option on offense that gives us a little bit of a cushion."

Culy (5), Jason Hawke (5), Chartier (4) and Heller (2) also entered the scoring column. Heller added six rebounds while Culy and Chartier dished out three assists each. Culy also had three steals.

Tech shot 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field and 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from three. At the free throw line, the Huskies made 23-of-29 for 79.3 percent. The Huskies also controlled the boards (38-35), including a 22-17 advantage in the second half.

Indianapolis—who was the No. 2 seed—got 30 points from Cheatham after eight 3-pointers. Tyrae Robinson (12) and Kendall Vieke (10) were also in double figures for the Greyhounds who shot 42.4 percent (25-for-59) from the field. They also made 12 3-pointers.

The regional championship game tips off at 8 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday.

"Drury was the best team in the country last year and they put good a good waxing on us in the semifinal," said Luke. "We respect them and look forward to the opportunity.

"We're going to come and play hard and leave everything on the court. This group is not willing to be done yet. I don't think we played that well tonight, and we can still get a little bit better."



THE FOLLOWING STORY COVERS SATURDAY'S MTU GAME

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.---
The Michigan Tech men's basketball team defeated Southern Indiana 75-70 at the 2014 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Saturday to advance to Sunday's semifinal.

The Huskies improved to 23-7 overall after defeating the Screaming Eagles for the first time in the program's history at the O'Reilly Events Center on the campus of Drury University.

For the second year in a row, the Huskies will head to the regional semifinal. This time the Huskies will face No. 2 seed Indianapolis at 7 p.m. (ET). The Greyhounds defeated No. 7 seed Bellarmine in the second quarterfinal of the day.

Austin Armga scored 10 of the Huskies final 12 points to finish with 30 on the afternoon, his fifth 30-point game this season. First he went to the free throw line with the score knotted up at 63 to give Tech its lead back.

Ben Jones answered for USI with a deep 3-pointer to give the Eagles their first lead since the 14:42 mark.

Armga went back to work on the very next possession, as he rose up over two defenders deep in the paint to give Tech its final lead of the game. The defense then forced a USI turnover and a Jason Hawke floater made it a three-point game.

USI missed a jumper on their offensive possession and Armga rebounded the ball. The Huskies used some clock and got it to their senior guard who went one-on-one with his defender, backed him down and put up a high-arcing floater that dropped through for a five-point lead with 63 seconds to go.

Jones made a jumper to make it a one-possession game, but Armga again pushed it back to a five-point lead with a leaning jumper from 15-feet and 20 seconds left.

Orlando Rutledge made two free throws after a loose ball foul on Tech and it was again a one-possession game with 10 seconds on the clock. Armga was fouled on the inbound pass and made both free throws to seal the win for the Huskies.

"I'm proud of the way our kids hung in there played, executed, and trusted each other," Tech coach Kevin Luke said. "We missed some shots at the end of the first half, and they got back into it but we made our free throws and took care of the ball down the stretch."

"My teammates trust me to have the ball at the end of the game," Armga said. "Today the double didn't come and I was able to finish."

Tech opened the game making four 3-pointers and holding an early 12-3 lead. USI cut it
to one (14-13) after a 10-2 run of its own.

"We always stress a good start," said Ben Stelzer. "You have to credit the guys who were setting screens and getting us open. It seemed like they didn't know what hit them after the quick start."

The Huskies led for much of the first half but seven straight points by the Eagles—including five by Jones—gave the No. 3 seed a 33-29 lead at the break.

Only three players scored for Tech in the first half with Armga and Stelzer having 13. Alex Culy was also in the scoring column with an early 3-pointer.

Phil Romback was a major factor for the Huskies playing in only his 11th game of the season. He combined with Luke Heller, Troy Hecht and Kyle Stankowski to hold the Midwest Region's Player of the Year Aaron Nelson to over four points and six rebounds below his season averages. Romback also knocked down three 3-pointers and scored a season-high nine points.

"Phil stepped up and made some plays," added Luke. "He played a lot of minutes last year, and maybe this will propel him to do that on a nightly basis. At halftime we asked someone to step up and boy did that help."

After Tech trailed by four with 17:53 to go, a Stelzer 3-pointer sparked a 7-2 run that put the Huskies in front.

The teams traded leads until Romback hit his first three, and Hawke nailed another on back-to-back possessions to give the No. 6 seed a 44-39 lead.

Romback's three 2:26 later expanded the Black and Gold lead to seven, and his fourth trey gave the Huskies their largest lead of the second half at nine with 6:54 to go.
USI went on an 11-2 run in a span of 3:34 to tie the game at 63 with 3:20 to go, before

Tech made its final eight shots, including four from the field and four from the free
throw line. Hawke scored nine points, making 3-of-4 from the field. Culy finished with five points and a game-high eight rebounds to tie his career-high.

Tech shot 45.8 percent (22-for-48) from the floor and 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from three. The Huskies also connected on 21-of-25 free throw attempts.

The Huskies and Eagles each had 32 rebounds after USI entered the game out-rebounding its opponents by 14. Each team also had fewer than 10 turnovers. Tech tied a season-low with five turnovers and went 29:24 without committing one.

USI made 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field and 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) from deep. The Eagles shot only 56 percent (14-for-25) from the free throw line.

Jones scored a team-high 16 points for the Eagles. Nelson finished with 15 points and six rebounds while Rutledge (15) and Gavin Schumann (12) were also in double figures.

"It's something special to move on," Armga added. "I know we were here last year and have the experience. I think that makes us a dangerous team."




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