North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University men's basketball team overcame a challenging start to secure a 60-52 victory over Davenport. Trailing by 17 points in the first half, NMU turned the game around with a 16-0 run spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.

Head Coach Matt Majkrzak's team has now won six consecutive games. This latest victory marked his sixth win in as many attempts for NMU in their first game after New Year's Day.

Davenport took an early lead with runs of 7-0, 12-2, and another 7-0 stretch. However, NMU responded by scoring the last 11 points of the first half and adding five more at the start of the second half, narrowing DU's lead to one point at 32-31.

A key factor in NMU's comeback was their defensive effort, which kept Davenport scoreless for over nine minutes and without a field goal for more than eleven minutes.

Dylan Kuehl was instrumental in securing NMU's lead with an "and-one" play that put them ahead at 36-35. He then scored two three-pointers, contributing significantly to his game-high total of 19 points. Kuehl also led his team with eight rebounds and two blocks.

Julien Smith made crucial contributions late in the game despite struggling earlier on. After missing his first twelve shots, he hit back-to-back three-pointers that extended NMU's lead to ten points with just two minutes remaining.

Both teams had difficulties shooting throughout the game. NMU finished with a field goal percentage of 36.8% while holding Davenport to an even lower rate of 33.3%. From beyond the arc, NMU shot just 20.8%, slightly less than Davenport's 26.3%.

NMU demonstrated strong rebounding capabilities, leading Davenport by seven overall and outscoring them significantly in paint points.

Gerald Gittens Jr., another notable performer for NMU, added eleven points to their tally, nine coming from the first half.

With this win, Northern Michigan improved its season record to 9-2 and maintained an unbeaten streak in GLIAC play at 3-0. Meanwhile, Davenport dropped to a record of 4-7 overall and remained winless within their league at 0-3.

Looking ahead, Northern Michigan will travel to Allendale for a matchup against Grand Valley State on January 4th at 3 p.m.