The Huskies defeated Phoenix in an exhibition win on Wednesday

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Michigan Tech men’s basketball team, helped by a 30-point performance from a junior guard Marcus Tomashekrounded out the 2024 slate with an exhibition victory over Green Bay, 72-70 in front of 5,207 fans at Education Day at the Resch Center on Wednesday afternoon.

The Phoenix fall to 2-11 overall and 0-3 in the Horizon League, while the Huskies remain at 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the round.

“For the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game I felt like we were playing harder than them and then we had a five or six minute period where they were getting second chances and losing balls – we were doing better and competing “just a higher level,” Tech head coach said Josh Buettner said. “I hope our boys are confident. We played really well at home and hung around the Division I gym in the first half without hitting a three-pointer. It got loud in here when the kids got going and that was it.” “A great experience for our guys coming from the Green Bay area and a chance to come home and play the local Division I team playing is a big deal for them.”

After a sluggish first half in which Michigan Tech led by just 1:14, it fell behind by as many as 12 points before entering halftime trailing 33-23. The Huskies came out of the halftime break with determination in front of the largest crowd at the Resch Center this season.

The Huskies trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and were only able to maintain a lead of 1:14 in the first frame before heading into the locker room trailing 33-23.

Green Bay, Wisconsin native Tomashek, the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, gave the Huskies the lead in the first five minutes of the second frame, accounting for seven of MTU’s first 11 points and cutting the deficit to six points (40). -34). .

GB’s Ryan Wade extended the Phoenix lead back to double figures with a three-pointer two minutes later as the teams continued to trade back and forth with 12:10 to play. In a hurry, the Black & Gold players went on an 11-2 run in a minute and a half with two 3-pointers from the senior guard Adam Hobson sandwiched between a steal and a score dunk Gabe Smith and a 3-pointer from Ty Fernholz So the score was 49-46, forcing first-year Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb to call a timeout.

Tomashek scored 10 of the Huskies’ final 22 points in less than eight minutes of play, as the two teams recorded five lead changes from the media timeout less than eight minutes to the 1:33 mark.

Sophomore guard Matt Schmainda A 3-pointer tied the game with 1:33 left before Tomashek took the lead with a 3-pointer on the next possession to give the Huskies a 68-65 lead.

Tomashek for three!! The Huskies lead 68-65 with 54.3 minutes to play! #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/JQdHvaC1Eg

— Michigan Tech MBB (@mtumbb) December 18, 2024

GB’s Marcus Hall made one of two foul shots with 38 seconds left in the game. However, an untimely foul from Hall sent Tomashek to the foul line, where he hit two free throws to give the Black & Gold a four-point lead with 20 seconds to play.

Tomashek went 3-4 from the charity stripe in the final nine seconds of the game and finished the game 12-15 from the foul line. Jeremiah Johnson scored a last-second layup to make the final score 72-70 in favor of Michigan Tech.

Tomashek recorded his 9th 30-point game for the Black & Gold and led the team with eight rebounds. Junior striker Dawson Nordgaard added 10 points and three assists in 28 minutes of play. Junior guard Josh Terrian (3 points) and first-year guard Fernholz (9 points) each contributed five assists. Fernholz and Smith were each responsible for two steals.

Without the team’s leading scorer, Jeremiah Johnson finished with a team-best 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Phoenix. Marcus Hall (17 points), Ryan Wade (11 points) and Mac Wrecke rounded out GB’s double-digit scorers.

Next

The Huskies return to action in the new year, resuming GLIAC play with a road trip to Grand Valley State (Jan. 2) and Davenport (Jan. 4).