Northern Michigan University’s Cal Klesmit, left, sinks this 3-pointer during a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal game played against Grand Valley State at Vandament Arena in Marquette on March 5. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

KENOSHA, Wis. — Cal Klesmit hasn’t been known as a big scorer for the men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University.

Maybe that’s going to change.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard more than doubled his previous career high in points with 30 on Thursday night to lead the Wildcats to a narrow 82-78 victory at Wisconsin-Parkside.

With a previous career high of 13 points, on this night Klesmit made 9 of 19 from the field, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, adding a perfect 6-of-6 night at the free-throw line while grabbing five rebounds, making two steals and also two assists.

Two of his free throws came with 15 seconds remaining that expanded a one-score lead to 80-75.

After Parkside’s Josiah Palmer hits a triple with four seconds left, cutting Northern’s lead to 80-78, NMU’s Charlie Miller made two more free throws to seal the four-point victory, the Wildcats’ sixth in a row between these teams.

Klesmit hit a pair of 3s early to stake the Wildcats to a 12-3 lead barely three minutes in. Then he scored seven points in the final five minutes of the first half, when Parkside made a run to actually take the lead as the teams settled for a 40-40 tie at halftime.

Then he pumped in eight straight points in 62 seconds in the middle of the second half to stake NMU to its first double-digit lead, 64-53 with 9:33 remaining.

They still had an 11-point lead of 72-61 with 3:56 before a last-gasp push by the Rangers turned it into a one-score game in the late going.

This was the opener in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for both teams, NMU now 5-1 overall and Parkside falling to 3-2.

Top scorer Dylan Kuehl supported Klesmit with a nifty 18 points, even as he didn’t make any of his 3-point attempts. He did make both free throw tries, adding in team highs of seven assists and seven rebounds while not turning the ball over in 37 minutes court time.

Miller and teammate Trevor Polite added 10 points apiece, each making a pair of 3s as Polite had five rebounds and Miller four assists.

Luka Mateski and Paxton Warden led Parkside with 23 points each, Mateski going 10 of 10 at the free throw line.

Both teams shot nearly identically everywhere and were only one rebound apart. One of the biggest differences was NMU’s advantage in turnovers, 11-5, as the Wildcats made seven steals.

Northern remains near Lake Michigan for a game in Chicago at 4 p.m. EST today to take on Roosevelt. This game will be broadcast on Marquette radio station WUPZ 94.9 FM The Bay, with NMU hockey overlapping this basketball contest’s running time.

The Wildcats’ next GLIAC game isn’t until Jan. 1, with a pair of nonconference home games in the next week, then a trip to Puerto Rico for three games against teams from the U.S. commonwealth another week later.

NMU 82, Wis.-Parkside 78

Thursday in Kenosha, Wis.

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Klesmit 9-6-30, Kuehl 8-2-18, Miller 3-2-10, Polite 4-0-10, Dudek 1-0-2, Privet 4-0-8, Allen 2-0-4. Totals 31-10-82.

WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE — Mateski 6-10-23, Warden 9-2-23, Palmer 3-0-9, Surakat 2-1-5, McGlothlin 1-2-4, Dunham 2-2-8, Ivan 2-0-6. Totals 25-17-78.

Halftime score: Tied 40-40

FG shooting: NMU 31 of 65 (47.7 percent), Wis.-Parkside 25 of 53 (47.2 percent); 3-point shooting: NMU 10 of 23 (43.5 percent), Wis.-Parkside 11 of 24 (45.8 percent); FT shooting: NMU 10 of 13 (76.9 percent), Wis.-Parkside 17 of 20 (85 percent); Rebounding, NMU 32 (Dylan Kuehl 7), Wis.-Parkside 31 (Luka Mateski 7); Assists, NMU 17 (Kuehl 7), Wis.-Parkside 13 (Mateski 4); Steals, NMU 7 (Cal Klesmit and Jackson Dudek 2 each), Wis.-Parkside 4 (Braden McGlothlin 2); Turnovers, NMU 5, Wis.-Parkside 11.

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