Northern Michigan University’s Sam Schultz, front left, and Michigan Tech’s Pete Calcaterra go after a loose ball in the second half at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Good defense doesn’t get the attention that offensive stars usually do in just about any sport, basketball being no exception.

So while his teammates grabbed most of the headlines, Northern Michigan University junior forward Sam Schultz went about his business cleaning up the backboards during the Wildcats’ 98-66 rout of Michigan Tech at the Berry Events Center on Saturday afternoon.

But his league noticed as the Aurora, Illinois, native was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.

He is the third NMU men’s hoopster to be named a player of the week twice this season after Max Weisbrod earned the offensive nod the past two weeks and Dylan Kuehl was also a top defensive player twice this season.

In helping the Wildcats win their 12th straight and keep their conference record a spotless 9-0, Schultz pulled down 13 rebounds while scoring 11 points and making a steal on Saturday.

He not only leads the GLIAC in rebounding, but is also almost two rebounds a game better than every other player. With an average of 10.3 per game, only No. 2 Marius Grazulis of Grand Valley State at 8.4 is within three of Schultz. Grazulis is also a Marquette Senior High School graduate.

Schultz’s rebounding average ranks him 11th in NCAA Division II as he is one of only a dozen players nationwide to average a double-double, and the only one in the Midwest, according to an NMU Sports Information release about the conference honor.

With all of Northern’s recent success, it shouldn’t be too surprising that a Wildcat has been a player of the week for the past four weeks.

Schultz dominates every conference rebounding statistic, ranking No. 1 in each except for No. 2 in one. He’s also fifth with his 57.9% field goal shooting in all games and seventh at 55.9% in conference games.

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