Northern Michigan University’s Cal Klesmit, right, tries a reverse layup while getting fouled by Marian's Max Breitenbach during at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Dec. 14. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — No rust was apparent as the men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University got an early jump on the new year with a 101-65 rout of Davenport at Vandament Arena on Friday afternoon.

This game was originally scheduled for Thursday, New Year’s Day, then rescheduled to Sunday after power outage issues on campus.

Then in the past several days, it was moved again to Friday.

Today’s game — which hasn’t been moved around on the schedule — against another foe from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Grand Valley State, will be played at 3 p.m., and of course, still at Vandament Arena.

On Friday, the Wildcat won their 11th game in a row by bombing in 21 triples in 37 tries, a team 56.8% success rate.

The old team record was 18 made 3s set in 2006 against Wisconsin-Stout and in 2021 vs. Concordia, Wisconsin.

After making what might now seem like a modest 8 of 13 on those long-range shots in the first half, they stepped it up by sinking 13 of 24 after halftime.

Cal Klesmit led the way by making 7 of 10 treys and scoring 24 points, second only in scoring to usual top scorer Dylan Kuehl’s 33 points. He made a perfect 5 of 5 on triples, 10 of 11 overall from the floor, and even 8 of 9 on his free throws.

He added in four rebounds, a blocked shot, a steal and no turnovers in 28 minutes court time.

NMU improved to 12-1 overall and 3-0 in the GLIAC, its 11th win in a row being two shy of the all-time program record. In addition, the Wildcats reached triple-figures scoring for the first time since Feb. 24, 2022, in a 102-69 thrashing of Lake Superior State.

Bennett Basich also broke into double-figures scoring for Northern on Friday, pouring in 14 points by making 2 of 3 on 3s with four rebounds and three assists, while teammate Jackson Dudek got 13 points after making 3 of 5 on triples and grabbing a game-high six rebounds.

Davenport, still a solid 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference, was paced by Curtis Jackson with 13 points.

The Wildcats went wild on the scoreboard from the get-go, jumping out to a 16-0 lead with 13:13 left in the first half after Kuehl hit his first triple.

NMU kept a lead of at least 10 points until another late first-half surge, 14-0, ended with the Wildcats leading 43-16 with 3:30 left before halftime following a Klesmit 3.

Still up 48-24 at halftime, they quickly built their first 30-point lead, 57-27, with 18:46 left on a Charlie Miller trey.

Northern’s high-water mark came with a 37-point lead, 84-47, with 8:07 to go on a Klesmit triple.

With Grand Valley’s 79-75 upset victory at national No. 5 Michigan Tech this week, the Wildcats are the lone remaining undefeated team in the GLIAC just three games into the league season.

NMU 101, Davenport 65

Friday at Vandament Arena

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

DAVENPORT — Jackson 4-4-13, Ritt 4-0-10, Smith 4-2-10, Walker 3-0-8, McClendon 4-2-12, Deen 2-1-5, Flakes 2-0-4, Hinkle 1-0-3. Totals 24-9-65.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY — Kuehl 10-8-33, Klesmit 8-1-24, Dudek 5-0-13, Miller 2-0-6, Basich 5-2-14, Hinson 3-0-8, Robertson 1-0-2, Privet 0-1-1. Totals 34-12-101.

Halftime score: NMU 48-24

FG shooting: Davenport 24 of 56 (42.9 percent), NMU 34 of 61 (55.7 percent); 3-point shooting: Davenport 8 of 19 (42.1 percent), NMU 21 of 37 (56.8 percent); FT shooting: Davenport 9 of 18 (50 percent), NMU 12 of 16 (75 percent); Rebounding, Davenport 25 (Dylan Smith 5), NMU 40 (Jackson Dudek 6); Assists, Davenport 14 (Curtis Jackson 5), NMU 23 (Trevor Polite 4); Steals, Davenport 6 (Jackson 3), NMU 5 (5 players with 1 each); Turnovers, Davenport 8, NMU 8.

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