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Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team challenges pair of 2-0 GLIAC foes this weekend

Northern Michigan University head coach Matt Majkrzak, in gray shirt at center, talks to his Wildcats during a timeout in the first half of a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal game played against Lake Superior State at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on March 2. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team may feel fortunate to be home this weekend to host a pair of high-flying GLIAC opponents.

The Wildcats are 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference after opening out of state last weekend. NMU defeated Purdue Northwest 85-77 in Hammond, Indiana, before falling to Wisconsin-Parkside 76-68 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Northern hosts Ferris State at 5:30 p.m. today and Lake Superior State at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Berry Events Center.

Both opponents started 2-0 in the GLIAC last weekend.

NMU has about a three-point edge on its opponents in scoring average, outscoring them 80.6 to 77.7 points per game. Rebounding is similar, with the Wildcats holding a 34.0-29.9 average.

GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Max Bjorklund is living up to the hype, averaging 22.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

The Northern senior leads the conference in scoring by more than four points per game.

Sophomore teammate Brian Parzych is second in scoring at 15.8 ppg, pulling down 4.0 rebounds per game and leading the Wildcats in assists with 29. He’s also shooting 92 percent on free throws, making 33 of 36.

Redshirt freshman Dylan Kuehl averages 10.2 ppg, a team-leading 5.3 rebounds a contest and has 11 blocked shots. He is also second in GLIAC field-goal shooting at 59.3 percent.

Ferris and LSSU join Parkside with 2-0 GLIAC starts.

Ferris, which is 6-2 overall, is led in scoring by Ben Davidson at 13.3 ppg while he adds 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game.

Solomon Oraegbu is second in scoring at 11.8 ppg and also averages 3.3 rebounds, while Ethan Erickson is third in scoring at 11.5 ppg.

Averaging a team-high 6.8 rebounds and scoring at 10.7 ppg, Dolapo Olayinka may sound familiar to Wildcats fans as he played three full seasons and five games in another redshirt year for NMU before transferring to Ferris this season.

While the Lakers are perfect in a pair of league games, LSSU is just 3-4 overall.

They’re led by Caden Ebeling at 14.3 ppg and 5.3 rebounds a contest, while Tyson Edmonson is second in Lake State scoring at 11.7 ppg while adding 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals a game.

Kemon Bassett averages 11.6 ppg and is the team leader in rebounds at 6.1 a game.

Follow @NMUMensBBall and @NMU_Wildcats on Twitter for continuous updates throughout the week.

Both games will be broadcast on the Wildcats’ home radio station network. Today’s game is on WUPZ 94.9 FM The Bay with the NMU hockey game being played at the same time as the basketball doubleheader, while Sunday’s game will be on WUPT 100.3 FM The Point.

Fans can go online to the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s basketball schedule for links to live statistics, video, audio, ticket information, game previews and a history of the rivalries.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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