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Huge Comeback Falls Short For NMU At Regionals
 This story was written by NMU Sports Informatiom INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Down 24 in the second half, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team rallied to tie it late, but ultimately fell to McKendree, 93-83, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. NMU's season ends at 25-8, the most wins in program history. Max Bjorklund had another otherworldly performance, scoring 28 of his game-high 34 points in the second half to give the 'Cats a fighting chance. He finishes the season averaging 21.1 PPG and scoring 633, the 7th most in a season in NMU history. Max Weisbrod added 18 points in the effort for the Green and Gold. For McKendree, Milos Vicentic led the way with 31 points on 10-15 shooting. Eric Powell II added 24 more on a perfect 8-8 and 6-6 from three. Dylan Kuehl was the go-to for the Wildcats early on, pouring in seven of the first 10 points for Northern. The Bearcats seemingly couldn't miss in the game's opening half. They started 16-20 (80%) from the floor and settled for a 20-28 (71.4%) mark in the opening frame. The Bearcats never relinquished the lead in the half. Although much of the opening half was the Wildcats hanging close, the Bearcats got up ny a dozen a few different times, including heading into recess with a 49-37 lead after a corner three from Eric Powell II beat the halftime horn. He had 16 while Vicentic added 13 to lead the McKendree attack at the break. Dylan Kuehl had nine to lead the WIldcats while Bjorklund added another eight. Carrying over a 5-0 run to end half one, McKendree scored the first 12 points of the second half, a 17-0 run in total, to blow the doors open. The deficit for NMU was at 24, 61-37, just over two minutes into the second half. That's when the Max attack (Bjorklund and Weisbrod) came to life. Weisbrod ended the run with a three-ball, then Bjorklund scored 18 of the next 20 points for the Wildcats, cutting the deficit in half at 73-61 with just over eight minutes remaining. As the winding minutes approached, Northern stayed with it and kept swindling the deficit. NMU made it a one-score game at 76-73 with four minutes to go after a four-point trip down the floor. A Carson Smith driving layup with 3:03 to go completely erased what once seemed an insurmountable deficit, tying the game at 78 all. It wasn't quite enough, as the Bearcats scored the next eight points as the clock rounded the final minute of action. McKendree got it done at the charity stripe late, as they advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 93-83 win. They will face Missouri-St. Louis in the regional final on Tuesday.
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