Northern Michigan University’s Dylan Kuehl, right, goes up for a shot against a Missouri-St. Louis defender during a game played in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., on Saturday. (Photo courtesy NMU)

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — The men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University opened its season at a neutral site in central Wisconsin with a win and a loss against teams from the largest city in Missouri.

The Wildcats dominated in a 91-70 romp over Maryville, then dropped a 80-67 decision to Missouri-St. Louis the following day.

NMU heads right back to the Dells this weekend for another pair of neutral-site encounters, facing Northern State (South Dakota) at 6 p.m. EST Friday, then taking on Northwest Missouri State at 3 p.m. EST Sunday.

The Wildcats are now 6-2 in games played at Wisconsin Dells.

Here is a roundup of the past weekend:

NMU 91, Maryville 70

On Friday afternoon, scoring balance was the theme for the Wildcats, with Dylan Kuehl and Charlie Miller leading five players scoring in double figures and another with nine points.

Scoring 16 points apiece were Kuehl, a three-time GLIAC First Team and Defensive Team honoree, and Miller, a new transfer from NCAA Division I Northern Iowa.

Kuehl made 6 of 9 shots from the floor, including hitting his only 3-point try, and added five rebounds and three assists. Miller made 4 of 7 on triples and had two assists.

Isaiah Allen added 13 points to the NMU cause, hitting 3 of 3 on treys and also getting team highs of six rebounds and two steals.

Jackson Dudek had 11 points, going 5 for 5 from the field including a triple, while Bennett Basich scored 10 with a pair of 3s, five rebounds and sharing the team high with four assists. Cal Klesmit put in nine points, hitting 5 of 5 free throws and adding four assists.

Henry Sanchez paced the Saints with 20 points.

Northern, which led 44-27 at halftime, made just over half its shots, 30 of 59 (50.8%), and even better on 3-pointers, 13 of 21 (61.9%).

The Wildcats quickly assumed the lead for good when Dudek hit a 3 less than three minutes in to make it 5-4. Six minutes later, Dudek made a layup to give NMU its first double-digit lead, 20-10, followed later by an 8-0 surge in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half giving it a big bulge at halftime.

A Kuehl layup with 18:24 left gave Northern its first 20-point lead, 50-29. While Maryville cut it back to 11, 57-46, with 11:15 left, NMU surged again to get back to a 20-point advantage within five minutes.

Mo.-St. Louis 80, NMU 67

On Saturday afternoon, this team from Missouri erased NMU’s early 5-2 edge to build a 16-point lead just before halftime, putting Northern in a 42-28 hole at intermission.

On this day, the Wildcats struggled mightily from long range, making just 3 of 23 triples (13%) and only 24 of 58 overall (41.4%).

Kuehl again led NMU scorers with 19 points, but none of his teammates scored in double figures. Kuehl made 7 of 11 from the field and 5 of 5 on free throws, adding team highs of six rebounds and three assists.

Dudek and Sam Privet were next in Northern scoring with eight points apiece, while Basich had a team-high three steals.

Taye Moore led the Tritons with 22 points as Makeer Makeer added 20 off the bench.

Kuehl and Dudek hit baskets and Dudek made a free throw in the first two minutes to give the Wildcats their early lead, but NMU was then outscored 20-8 over the next 8 1/2 minutes to fall into a hole it couldn’t dig out of.

Northern attempted a comeback in the middle of the second half, pulling within 60-50 after a Kuehl traditional three-point play with 6:54 left culminated a 13-3 streak by the Wildcats.

But NMU couldn’t get closer as Mo.-St. Louis regained a lead that twice reached 18 points, the final time 73-55 with 3:38 to go.

NMU 91, Maryville 70

Friday at Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Kuehl 6-3-16, Miller 5-2-16, Dudek 5-0-11, Basich 3-2-10, Klesmit 2-5-9, Allen 5-0-13, Privet 2-1-6, Hinson 0-4-4, Bellisle 1-0-3, Polite 1-0-2, Robertson 0-1-1. Totals 30-18-91.

MARYVILLE — Sanchez 5-7-20, Palmquist 7-2-17, P. Clark 4-4-13, K. Clark 3-1-7, Palbicki 2-0-4, Hackett 4-1-9. Totals 25-15-70.

Halftime score: NMU 44-27

FG shooting: NMU 30 of 59 (50.8 percent), Maryville 25 of 52 (48.1 percent); 3-point shooting: NMU 13 of 21 (61.9 percent), Maryville 5 of 15 (33.3 percent); FT shooting: NMU 18 of 23 (78.3 percent), Maryville 15 of 25 (60 percent); Rebounding, NMU 32 (Isaiah Allen 6), Maryville 30 (Kobe Clark 10); Assists, NMU 15 (Bennett Basich and Cal Klesmit 4 each), Maryville 4 (K. Clark 2); Steals, NMU 2 (Allen 2), Maryville 6 (Henry Sanchez 2); Turnovers, NMU 13, Maryville 16.

Mo.-St. Louis 80, NMU 67

Saturday at Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — ; 7-5-19, Dudek 3-1-8, Klesmit 3-0-6, Miller 1-1-4, Basich 0-1-1, Privet 2-4-8, Polite 2-3-7, Allen 3-0-6, Robertson 1-1-4, Schmitz 1-0-2, Bellisle 1-0-2. Totals 24-16-67.

MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS — Moore 7-5-22, Hamilton 3-6-12, Creighton 5-2-12, Boland 0-8-8, Davis 1-1-3, Makeer 7-3-20, Parker 1-0-3. Totals 24-25-80.

Halftime score: Mo.-St. Louis 42-28

FG shooting: NMU 24 of 58 (41.4 percent), Mo.-St. Louis 24 of 44 (54.5 percent); 3-point shooting: NMU 3 of 23 (13.0 percent), Mo.-St. Louis 7 of 15 (46.7 percent); FT shooting: NMU 16 of 23 (69.6 percent), Mo.-St. Louis 25 of 37 (67.6 percent); Rebounding, NMU 27 (Dylan Kuehl 6), Mo.-St. Louis 36 (Jake Hamilton 8); Assists, NMU 11 (Kuehl 3), Mo.-St. Louis 9 (Boland 5); Steals, NMU 7 (Bennett Basich 3), Mo.-St. Louis 4 (Taye Moore 2); Turnovers, NMU 8, Mo.-St. Louis 14.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.