The longtime coach of the Gogebic Community College Samsons basketball team is retiring. Dennis Mackey announced on Thursday that he will be retiring as of May 31st, after 38 years of teaching and coaching at the Ironwood school. He won more than 500 games during 19 years of coaching the women's team, followed by 19 more years coaching the men's team. The basketball coach at GCC's Lindquist Center was named after Mackey in November, 2024. Click the above headline for details on Mackey's career, and the RRN coverage of Mackey's special 2024 night,
Despite holding No. 6 Gannon Golden Knights to its second-lowest scoring performance of the season—20 points below its average—the No. 16 nationally ranked Michigan Tech Huskies couldn't find consistent offense, falling 75–49 in the Elite Eight at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Wednesday to end the program's historic NCAA Tournament run. Click teh above headline for details (courtesy of MTU Athletics), and video highlights and post-game comments, courtesy of NCAA.
After seven seasons leading the Northern Michigan men's basketball program, head coach Matt Majkrzak has accepted the head coaching position at Division I Northern Illinois University. Click the above headline for NMU story, and to hear RRN's Casey Ford interview Majkrzak about his decision to leave NMU. (RRN Photo)
The Northern Michigan men's basketball team fell to the Walsh Cavaliers in the second round of the DII NCAA Tournament on Sunday. NMU's season ended with a program-best 28-7 record. Click the above headline for details. (Story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information)
Senior guard Marcus Tomashek completed a four-point play with under three seconds to play to give the No. 15 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men's basketball team its first win over No. 22 Grand Valley State this season, advancing to the Midwest Region Championship game with a 69-67 victory at the Alumni Arena on the campus of Walsh University on Sunday evening. Click the above headline for details. (Michigan Tech story, photo)
The Northern Michigan men's basketball team pulled off a March miracle by using a 10-2 run in the final 32 seconds of the game to stun the Rockhurst Hawks by a margin of 86-85 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. "I've never seen a comeback like that," said NMU Head Coach Matt Majkrzak. "We kept fighting, and you go down to the final horn, and we win." Click the above headline for details, photos, video highlights, and post-game comments.
The No. 16 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men's basketball squad earned a game-high 34 points from Marcus Tomashek and a career-high 20 points from Jesse Napgezek off the bench in an 83-73 victory over Lake Erie to advance to the Regional Semifinal game at the Alumni Arena on the campus of Walsh University on Saturday afternoon. Click the above headline for details. (Michigan Tech photo)
The Dollar Bay High School boys basketball team battled hard Thuirsday night, but lost to Detroit Douglass, 58-47, in the MHSAA Division Four state semifinal at the Breslin Center. The Blue Bolts faurced a team that has blown out all of its recent opponents, but were down by just six points in the fourth quarter. Click the above headline for details. (MHSAA story and photo)
The Menominee Maroons made seven three-point baskets in the first half to take a nine-point halftime lead on Thursday, but the outside shooting dried up in the second half and the Maroons lost to Arts & Technology of Pontiac, 78-66, in the Division Three state semifinals in East Lansing. Click the above headline for details. (Story and photo courtesy of MHSAA)
Liam Tourtillott scored 23 points, 14 of them down the stretch, to lead the Dollar Bay Blue Bolts to a 55-46 come-from-behind win over the Pickford Panthers Tuesday night in the MHSAA Division Four boys basketball state quarterfinal in Gladstone. Click the above headline for photos, videos, and interviews.
The Escanaba Eskymos eighth grade basketball team has won a state championship. The boys went undefeated and won the Michigan Middle School Silver bracket state title over the weekend in dowinstate Brighton. There were 12 teams in the bracket. In pool play, Escanaba beat Charlotte, 44-26, and topped Owosso 48-32, In the semifinals, Esky beat Niles, 47-25, and in the championship game, Escanaba pulled out a 45-42 win over SISU out of Vassar, Michigan. Tournaments were held in 3rd through 8th grades, and Escanaba was the only Upper Peninsula team in any bracket to bring home the championshiip.
It was Selection Sunday late Sunday night, and the Northern Michigan University men's and women's basketball teams both heard their names called for trips to the NCAA-II tournaments. Click the above headline for details and to hear reaction from both NMU head coaches.
Dylan Kuehl was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, headlining a group of postseason honors for Northern Michigan men's basketball. Matt Majkrzak was selected as the GLIAC Coach of the Year, while Cal Klesmit earned First Team All-GLIAC honors and Jackson Dudek was named to the Second Team. Click the above headline for details, courtesy of NMU Sports Information.
The Bay College Norse men's basketball team had its season come to an end on Thursday, falling to the Lansing Community College Stars, 81-64, in the NJCAA Region 12 tournament semifinals in Flint. The Norse had beaten Kirtland Community College in the quarterfinals 36 hours earlier, 98-57. Click the above headline for details.
The Northern Michigan men's basketball team rolled past the Ferris State Bulldogs 91-62 on Wednesday night to advance to the GLIAC Semifinals. Being the No. 1 seed, NMU will host the Semifinals and Championship on Saturday and Sunday. Click the above headline for details. (NMU Photo)
For the fourth consecutive season, the Northern Michigan Wildcats are GLIAC champions, claiming a share of the 2025-26 regular-season title with a commanding, wire-to-wire 98-75 victory over the Parkside Rangers on Saturday. The 'Cats will host Ferris State in the GLIAC quarterfinals Wednesday night. Click the above headline for details, and to hear RRN's Casey Ford interview the Wildcat players and Coach Matt Majkrzak. (NMU Photo)
The Menominee High School boys basketball team won a MHSAA Division Three district championship Friday night, beating the Iron Mountain Mountaineers, 72-29, in the Menominee High School Gym. Talan Woods led the Maroons with 25 points as his team improved to 20-4 on the season. Click the above headline for details.
On a night when dozens of "Beat Bay" shirts were sold at the Morey Courts in Mt. Pleasant, the Bay College Norse men's basketball team stunned the eighth-ranked team in the country, the Mid Michigan Lakers, 88-85, an an intense playoff-style game Tuesday night. Click the above headline for details, photos, videos, and interviews.
The Bay College Norse men's basketball team had to work hard on Sunday to get past the Kirtland Community College Firebirds, 87-83, on a neutral court at Delta College in Saginaw. The game was played there because of two weather-related postponements last week that prevented the teams from meeting in Escanaba. Click the above headline to see details, photos, videos.
The Bay College Norse men's basketball team clamped down on defense and nailed 16 triples on offense Saturday in a 92-65 win over the Delta College Pioneers on Saturday in Saginaw. The Norse held the nation's leading scorer, Sir'Real Smith, to 15 points, and Bay freshman Emerson Droubie drained seven three-pointers as the Norse locked up the second seed in the MCCAA playoff race. Click the above headline for details.
One of the most dominant careers in Northern Michigan men's basketball history reached new heights on Saturday afternoon, as Dylan Kuehl surpassed 2,000 career points in a dominant 75-53 win at Ferris State. Kuehl scored a game-high 20 points, shooting 10-17 from the field. He added four rebounds and four assists. He is now just the fourth player in program history to reach the 2K milestone. Click the above headline for details.
The Gladstone Braves held the Escanaba Eskymos to no baskets and only one total point over the last part of the third and all of the fourth quarters, and the Braves rallied for a 56-52 victory over the Eskymos Friday night. The win allowed Gladstone, which has suffered multiple very close losses to top Upper Peninsula teams, to finish with a 12-10 record. Escanaba finishes with a 7-14 record. Click the above headline for interviews.
In front of a sold-out crowd, the No. 22 Northern Michigan Wildcats knocked off their UP rival and No. 12 Michigan Tech 70-64 in a thrilling, high-intensity battle. Click the above headline for details. (NMU Photo)
The Bay College Norse men's basketball team jumped to a 13-0 lead on Saturday and rolled to a 93-68 win over the Muskegon Community Jayhawks at the Bay College Gym. The win moved the Norse into second place in the MCCAA standings after last-place Alpena stunned Montcalm. It was Alpena's first win of the season while Montcalm fell to third place in the standings. Click the above headline for details.
In a tightly contested game at Purdue Northwest on Saturday evening, the No. 17 Northern Michigan Wildcats fell in an 88-76 defeat. Click the above headline for details, courtesy of NMU Sports Information, and to hear comments from Coach Matt MajkrZak.
It was a classic Great Northern Conference basketball game Friday night as the Menominee Maroons and Gladstone Braves battled it out in Gladstone. The game went down to the wire before the second-ranked Maroons escaped with a 65-62 win to improve to 6-1 in GNC play. Click the above headline for details, photos, video highlights, and interviews.
The Escanaba High School boys basketball team held off the Manistique Emeralds, 65-55, Monday night, on Senior Night at the Escanaba High School Gym. The Eskymos won their third straight game to improve to 7-11 on the season. Manistique's record fell to 5-11. Click the above headline for details, photos, video highlights, and interviews.
The Bay College Norse men's basketball team came from behind to beat the Montcalm Community Centurions on Saturday, 59-48, in western Lower Michigan. Click the above headline for details, interviews, and to see photos, video highlights.
The Lake Superior State Lakers used a 13-0 run in the first half and another 15-0 run in the second to edge the No. 16 Northern Michigan Wildcats 71-68, giving NMU its first home loss of the season. Click the above headline for details. (NMU Photo)
The No. 16 Northern Michigan Wildcats put on an offensive showcase Thursday night, riding a three-headed attack to another statement win at Vandament Arena. Dylan Kuehl poured in 32 points, Cal Klesmit followed with 24, and Bennett Basich chipped in another 14 as the Wildcats secured their 20th victory of the season. Click het above headline for details. (NMU Photo)
