NORTH CANTON — When it was in doubt for Michigan Tech, it took it inside.
That was more than enough for the tall Huskies and a problem throughout for the Lake Erie men’s basketball team in its NCAA Division II tournament opener.
Michigan Tech (27-6) pounded the ball inside en route to 36 free throws and wore down the Storm in the second half as it posted an 83-73 victory on the campus of Walsh University.
The Huskies advanced to the Round of 32, and LEC closed its season at 23-9 but left Stark County with plenty of reasons to be optimistic going forward. The program made the NCAA tournament for the first time as a D-II program, and with a roster full of underclassmen with no senior starters, Coach Kyle Conley was optimistic going forward.
Lake Erie College’s Kai Bloom goes up for a shot against Michigan Tech March 14 in North Canton. (Tim Phillis – For The News-Herald)
“I hope this becomes the new norm,” said the LEC head coach. “Obviously, we’re a young group. Today’s world of college basketball is very unique so it’s hard to imagine what’s happening with changes, but I think a lot of guys will be back. I think the bar has been raised, and there’s a new standard. I hope we can continue to raise that bar.”
The Storm came ready as the ball was tipped and went toe to toe with Michigan Tech, which led, 46-45, at the break on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
LEC was pressing, deflecting passes and draining 3s (8 of 15 in the first half), but the Huskies came out strong after the break, and at the 11-minute mark after two free throws by Jesse Napgezek, Tech built its biggest lead to that point at 65-56.
The Storm wouldn’t go quietly down the stretch. A basket by Gio Moore cut the lead to 76-72 with 2 minutes to play, but the Huskies answered with a Nate Abel basket and two free throws by Marcus Tomashek and an 80-72 advantage with a minute to play that all but clinched the win.
Free throws were a huge part of Tech’s victory. It attempted 16 more than LEC, and made 27 of 36. Napgezek (20 points) was 14 of 18 from the charity stripe, and Tomashek (who scored a game-high 34 points and made five 3s) was 7 of 7.
With LEC’s constant pressure, the Storm’s MO is trying to wear out teams with their pressure and up-tempo approach, but it was Tech’s inside play with 6-foot-10 posts Dawson Nordgaard and Grant Warren and ability to draw fouls that was the difference.
“Our thought was if we handled their pressure a little bit, we could get whatever we wanted inside,” said Tech coach Josh Buettner. “Grant and Dawson are two 6-10 guys and they had no one to match up with them. And Jesse didn’t a great job getting to the free-throw line.”
The Storm’s up-tempo style of play is predicated on making shots to set up their full-court press. The second half made that difficult as LEC was just 2 of 16 from 3-point range.
“I thought we were playing with great pace in the first half,” said Conley. “… Tech really clamped us defensively. We didn’t shoot well in the second half, and for us when the ball doesn’t go through the basket, it’s hard for us to get our press set. That was the difference in the game.”
LEC shot 37.3 percent from the floor (25 of 67) while Tech was an efficient 25 of 44 for 56.8 percent. The Huskies also outrebounded the Storm, 39-28, and took advantage from the free-throw line.
“We knew their size was going to play an impact in the game,” said Conley. “It wasn’t even their 5s. Their wings were able to get to their spots, and back us down and get to the free-throw line. When we tried to get stops down the stretch, we kept putting them on the line. They took advantage of our lack of size.”
Kai Bloom was LEC’s leading scorer with 21 points and Alanas Castillo had 15 points and three 3s. Point guard Amari Williams added eight points, five rebounds and three assists.