The national No. 20 Wildcats retained their share of the lead in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after coleader Michigan Tech pulled out an 84-83 win at Lake Superior State at the same time.

Each of those Upper Peninsula rivals are 16-2 overall and 7-1 in the league, one loss fewer than third-place Grand Valley State and two losses up on Wayne State and Ferris State.

SVSU slipped to 9-7 and 3-5 and is among four teams tied for the final three spots in the end-of-season GLIAC Tournament that takes place in early March.

On Saturday, Cal Klesmit had one of his hot shooting days for Northern, leading all players with 19 points as he made five 3-pointers and shot 7 of 13 overall from the field even while not getting to the free-throw line.

Northern Michigan University’s Cal Klesmit, right, drives to the basket while defended by Michigan Tech's Gabe Smith during their GLIAC game played in Houghton on Jan. 8. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Regular leading scorer Dylan Kuehl along with

Bennett Basich added 13 points apiece for the Wildcats, while teammates Jackson Dudek and Brooks Hinson pumped in 11 points each.

Basich, an offseason NCAA Division I transfer, pulled down a big 14 rebounds to lead all players and added team highs of five assists and three steals. He even found time to block two shots, too.

Kuehl finished with four blocks, as many as all other players on both teams combined, while grabbing nine rebounds.

Aidan Duran came off the bench to lead the Cardinals with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

NMU took control early as Dudek’s layup with 17:21 left in the first half gave his team a 6-5 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Northern Michigan University head coach Matt Majkrzak, center, talks to his Wildcats during a timeout in a GLIAC game played against Michigan Tech in Houghton on Jan. 8. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

But it took until 6:56 remained in the opening half for the Wildcats to get their first double-digit lead, 32-20, on a Hinson triple.

Leading 45-35 at halftime, Northern bumped it to a 20-point lead, 63-43, with 12:03 left when Basich hit three free throws in a single trip to the line.

Though the Wildcats’ high-water mark was 22 points, 68-46, with 10:13 to go on a Klesmit 3, the Cardinals scratched back to get their deficit under 10 points several times in the last minute and a half.

However, Hinson hit 5 of 6 free throws in that stretch to insure Northern wouldn’t be seriously threatened.

NMU returns home this week for a pair of GLIAC games at Vandament Arena, hosting fourth-place Wayne State (5-3 GLIAC) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and sixth-place Purdue Northwest (3-5 GLIAC) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

NMU 67, Saginaw Valley St. 51

Saturday at University Center

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Klesmit 7-0-19, Kuehl 4-4-13, Basich 4-5-13, Dudek 5-0-11, Miller 2-2-8, Hinson 2-6-11. Privet 3-1-7, Allen 1-1-4. Totals 28-19-86.

SAGINAW VALLEY STATE — Thomas 4-2-12, Josephs 5-1-11, Scott 2-0-6, Taylor 2-0-4, Huckeby 1-1-3, Duran 5-4-17, Nichols 6-1-14, Taratuta 1-2-5, Stefanski 1-2-5. Totals 27-13-77.

Halftime score: NMU 45-35

FG shooting: NMU 28 of 58 (48.3 percent), Saginaw Valley State 27 of 64 (42.2 percent); 3-point shooting: NMU 11 of 25 (44 percent), Saginaw Valley State 10 of 31 (32.3 percent); FT shooting: NMU 19 of 25 (76 percent), Saginaw Valley State 13 of 19 (68.4 percent); Rebounding, NMU 40 (Bennett Basich 14), Saginaw Valley State 32 (Aidan Duran 10); Assists, NMU 12 (Basich 5), Saginaw Valley State 13 (Dontez Scott II 5); Steals, NMU 6 (Basich 3), Saginaw Valley State 9 (Bryson Huckeby 3); Turnovers, NMU 13, Saginaw Valley State 9.

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.