SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ---- The Michigan Tech men's basketball season came to end with a 76-62 loss to Drury University Sunday night  in the semifinals of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament. Junior Austin Armga powered the Huskies with 21 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line.

"Compliments to Drury. They played hard," said head coach Kevin Luke. "They are well coached, disciplined, hungry and got it early. Not because we didn't want it, they were just that good. Hat goes off to Drury. They deserve it."

Daktronics Midwest Player of the Year Alex Hall sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers for Drury around a jumper by sophomore Ben Stelzer to open the game.

Hall finished with a game-high 23 points. The Panthers' lead grew to nine by four minutes into the contest. Senior Ali Haidar got into foul trouble early for the Huskies picking up his third personal foul with 7:32 remaining in the half.

With Haidar on the bench for the remainder of the half, DU's lead grew to as many as 20. The Panthers took a 41-28 lead at the break.

Tech shot 39-percent (9-23) in the first half, and Drury shot 59-percent (16-27).

The Huskies made several runs in the second half but could not get closer than 10 points.

Tech improved to 43-percent (13-30) from the field in the second half, while holding Drury to 48-percent (12-25) in the second.

Haidar finished with 13 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field, and grabbed six rebounds in 26 minutes of limited play. Haidar finished his career with 1,940 points, fifth all-time. The Windsor, Ont., native set numerous records for the Huskies including career rebounding (887) and season scoring (711).

Three other players played their final game for the Huskies.

Matt Esters grabbed five rebounds and scored five points to finish with 241 points for his career. T.J. Brown scored two points for 189 career points. Anthony Katona drained a 3-pointer near the end of the game to finish with 23 for his career.  

Drury held a 19-8 rebounding edge at halftime, but hard work by Tech in the second half evened the final rebounds at 30.

The Huskies finish the season 21-9, their best finish since 2003-04 when the team posted 22 wins.


SATURDAY NIGHT'S TECH RECAPS

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.---The Michigan Tech Huskies had a big second half and beat Wisconsin-Parkside, 86-75, in the NCAA-II regional tournament Saturday night in Missouri. The Huskies trailed by two points at halftime, but then outscored UWP, 46-33, in the second half to advance to the second round against host Drury (Mo.).

Ali Haidar scored 32 points on 14-of-22 shooting to lead the Huskies. Ben Steltzer added 25 points for the Huskies, including six three-point baskets. And Austin Armga added 16 points for MTU, which improved to 21-8 on the season.

Tech faces the host Drury team in the regional semifinals Sunday night.


ASHLAND, OHIO---The season came to an end for the Michigan Tech University women's basketball team on Saturday. The Lady Huskies fell to the Ashland (Ohio) Eagles, 67-54, in Ohio. Ashland is 33-1 on the season and ranked #2 in the country.

Michigan Tech trailed just 30-28 at halftime, but the Eagles pulled away in the second half behind star player Kari Daugherty. Daugherty scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting. She made all eight free throws, and pulled down 13 rebounds.

Tech got 12 points each from Jillian Ritchie and Emma Veach. Sam Hoyt added ten points, seven assists, and five rebounds. MTU finishes its season with a 21-9 record.


FRIDAY NIGHT'S TECH RECAP:

ASHLAND, Ohio---Senior Sam Hoyt scored 29 points and sophomore Jillian Ritchie added a career-high 19 to lead the Michigan Tech women's basketball team to a 79-67 win over Kentucky Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday.

The women buried 15-of-28 3-pointers in the game to earn a spot in the semifinals vs. host Ashland Saturday night at 7:30.

Hoyt buried two 3-pointers and Ritchie had another in the first five minutes to help the Huskies jump out to a 13-4 advantage. The Panthers battled their way back and grabbed a 28-27 lead before an Emma Veach triple put the Black and Gold up for good.

Tech entered the halftime locker room up 33-30.

The fourth-seeded Huskies opened the second half with another trey from Hoyt, but it was still just a five-point margin with 14:41 to play. That's when Paige Albi knocked down a pair from deep and Ritchie added another three for a 52-43 advantage by the 12:41 mark. KWC hung around down the stretch, but never got closer than seven in the final 11 minutes.

"I am so proud of this team," said MTU head coach Kim Cameron, who improved to 4-0 in Midwest Regional games as head coach. "Kentucky Wesleyan pressured and made it difficult for us to get anything inside. Every player stepped up and knocked down big shot after big shot. As they have all season, our players played gritty against a very good team."

Hoyt's 29-point night included 9-of-17 field goal shooting (including 5-of-10 from 3-point range) and 6-of-6 free throw shooting. Ritchie posted nine rebounds to go with her 19 points. She was also 5-of-10 from long distance.

Albi scored 11 points with six rebounds. Veach had a very efficient game with 10 points on five shots and seven assists with just one turnover.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the field. Tech had just one more made field goal in the game, but buried nine more 3-pointers (15 compared to six). The Huskies also held a 34-25 rebounding edge.

Michigan Tech, which has won each of its last 10 consecutive NCAA Midwest Regional games, will face a daunting task tomorrow when it plays top-seeded Ashland. The No. 2 nationally-ranked Eagles are responsible for giving the Huskies two of their eight losses.

---Stories Courtesy of Michigan Tech University Sports Information.