Wildcats Open GLIAC Season With 75-69 Victory

Story written by NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO button to hear RRN's Casey Ford interview Coach Matt Majkrzak. (NMU photo)

MARQUETTE, Mich. - Brian Parzych and Dylan Kuehl each poured in 24 points as the Northern Michigan men's basketball team earned a 75-69 victory over Wayne State to open up conference play.

Parzych was 8-12 (66.7%) while Kuehl was 9-15 (60.0%) for two dominant performances. Carson Smith chipped in 11 points while Sam Schultz led the way on the glass with nine boards. Wayne State's Carmelo Harris had 22 for the Warriors.

As a team, NMU was 25-51 (49.0%) while WSU was 27-55 (49.1%). In a balanced game, NMU held a slight edge on the glass, 27-23, and outscored the Warriors 11-7 in points off turnovers.

With the win, NMU improves to 6-5 and 1-0 in the GLIAC. Wayne State drops to 4-3 and 0-1 in conference play.

Northern had the touch in the early minutes, connecting on its first four shots, with three of those coming via the three-ball. Carson Smith scored the first five, with a corner three and nifty steal and fastbreak layup. Dylan Kuehl and Brian Parzych followed that with triples of their own to lead 11-4 at the first media whistle.

The 'Cats were empty on the next five shots, but Parzych called in another three to get back on track. Tamario Adley added a highlight reel play for Wayne, driving the lane and throwing down a slam to fire up the Warriors. They would hit a three the next trip down the hardwood to close the gap to one at 14-13. Once leading 14-6, NMU was on the wrong end of a 15-2 Warrior spurt over a six-minute stretch as they trailed WSU 21-16 with eight minutes left.

Luckily for Northern, the UNO reverse card was in the back pocket and they put it in play, stopping the bleeding by going on a 10-3 run to pull even at 24's. The rest of the half was tightly contested, as the the next five minutes played within a possession until Kuehl hit a three and contested baseline jumper to go up by four. That margin held as the clock reached zero, with NMU ahead 41-37.

Brian Parzych led the squad with 13 in the half, while Kuehl also dipped into double figures with 10. Each shot 4-6 from the floor.

Kuehl scored the first eight points of the second half for the 'Cats, including a two-handed flush, as Northern briefly regained a double-digit advantage four minutes in. His triple at 13:35 gave him 21 on the night and pushed NMU in front 55-45.

After being held scoreless in the first half, WSU's Rob Lee Jr. scored nine points over a three-minute stretch to help lessen the gap to 58-54 at the halfway point of the closing half. Parzych also reached the 20-point plateau for the Green and Gold, with consecutive contested baskets at the rim to push the lead to 62-54 with 7:40 on the clock.

Carmelo Harris hit a corner three for the Warriors with 1:25 to go to make it a one possession game, 70-67, for the first time since the closing minute of the first half. It was cut to two with 42.7 seconds left, leading to a vital possession for the Wildcats.

Kuehl came to the rescue, hitting in a lean-in layup with 12.5 ticks on the clock to go up by four. Parzych closed the game out with two from the charity stripe as NMU emerged victorious with a 75-69 final score.