Hot-Shooting 'Cats Beat Purdue-Northwest, 81-67

This story was written by NMU Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Ind.---Two reached 20 points and four scored double-figures to lift Northern Michigan University Men's Basketball over Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Purdue University Northwest 81-67 Thursday night for their third-straight win.

Senior Sam Taylor (Chicago, Ill.) scored a season high 23 points while making a career-high five threes. Sophomore Troy Summers (Grayling, Mich.) tallied a new career high of 21 points.

Junior Alec Fruin (Beloit, Wis.) added 12 points and dished out five assists. Senior Myles Howard (Chicago, Ill.) finished the night with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a season best six blocks.

Freshman Noah Parcher (La Crosse, Wis.) chipped in with eight points while freshman Justin Kuehl (Iron Ridge, Wis.) contributed six points.

NMU shot 53.3% from the three-point line and 56.1% from the field. Defensively, they kept PNW to 21.1% from behind the arc.

Taylor scored the first eight points for NMU before Fruin knocked in a three to give the Wildcats an 11-2 lead a little more than three minutes into the game.

After PNW cut the lead to two points, the Wildcats responded to take a 23-14 advantage after a Kuehl basket at the 9:37 mark. The Pride managed to cut into the NMU lead to make it to 25-20, but the Wildcats again answered to end the half on a 15-8 run to go into the halftime break with a 40-28 advantage.

In the second half, the Pride continued to cut into the NMU lead which reduced the advantage to 45-41 less than four minutes into the half.

The Wildcats quickly pushed the lead back into double digits. Purdue Northwest managed to cut the lead to double digits with seven minutes to go, but a Parcher layup made it an 11 point advantage and NMU continued to keep that double figure lead to take an 81-67 victory.

NMU is now 7-7 this season and improves to 4-2 in the GLIAC while the Pride is 6-8 and 1-5 in conference play. The Wildcats will now travel to the University of Wisconsin Parkside Saturday afternoon to take on the Rangers for more GLIAC action.