Northern Michigan University’s Dylan Kuehl, right, dunks during a GLIAC game played against Ferris State at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Jan. 12. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University can only guarantee maintaining their share of the top spot in the conference if they keep winning.

After having their near-program-record 12-game winning streak snapped two weeks ago in a loss at Michigan Tech, the Wildcats have rebuilt a modest three-game string to share with the Huskies the top spot in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Interestingly, not only are both Upper Peninsula rivals 7-1 in the league, but they’re also both 16-2 overall. Tech, though, has a No. 6 national ranking while NMU’s is No. 13 in the weekly poll conducted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

No other GLIAC teams are in the top 25, though Grand Valley State is eight down on the “others receiving votes” list, effectively 33rd.

NMU returns home to Vandament Arena for two more games this week, starting at 7:30 p.m. today against Purdue Northwest, which is in a four-way tie for sixth at 3-5, while also 7-8 overall. Then comes a 3 p.m. game Saturday against fourth-place Wayne State, which is 5-3 in league and 8-6 overall.

Last week, Northern built its new winning streak on the road, defeating Lake Superior State 77-74 and Saginaw Valley State 86-77.

This week’s games mark the halfway point of the league season as everyone will have faced everyone else once.

Today’s and Saturday’s NMU games will be streamed online at FloCollege and available on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point. Fans can also follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during games, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s basketball schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live statistics and a preview.

The Wildcats have their highest national ranking since Jan. 11, 1993, when they were No. 8.

Last week, NMU trailed LSSU by 14 points late in the first half before mounting a comeback and taking its first lead with 2:53 remaining. Then at SVSU, five Northern players scored in double figures as the team notched a season-high seven blocked shots.

The team’s leading scorer, Dylan Kuehl, instead was lauded for his work at the other end of the court as the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Though he did have a game-high 31 points vs. Lake State, he also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots, making a key snuff of a driving layup attempt after rotating over on defense in the game’s final minute with the score tied.

Then vs. SVSU, Kuehl grabbed nine rebounds and blocked another four shots, the latter number the total of all other players on both teams combined. And those blocks all came in the second half.

The three-time GLIAC First Team honoree shows his two-way ability statistically, ranking No. 1 in the league at 22.6 points per game, No. 2 in blocks at 1.5 per game, No. 4 with 56.5% on field goals and No. 11 with 6.0 rebounds per contest.

Northern is also quite an efficient team, leading all of NCAA Division II with a plus-13.0 per-game rebounding margin, while also second with a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio, sixth with 11.1 3-pointers a game, seventh with 61.8 points per game allowed and eighth with a 40.0% on 3s.

Cal Klesmit gets good props, leading the league with 3.6 triples per game and shooting 49.2% overall. He’s also eighth in GLIAC games only at 16.3 ppg. He’s taken over numerous games as he’s made five or more triples in seven games this season.

Bennett Basich averages 13.2 ppg, 6.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per GLIAC contest, scoring in double figures in six straight games with his most recent outing at SVSU a 13-point, 14-rebound effort.

Purdue NW split two games last week, falling to Roosevelt 77-74 and beating Wisconsin-Parkside 82-61. The Pride are second only to the Wildcats in 3-point shooting at 38.2% as Kyle Ross at 14.8 ppg and Kevin Taylor at 11.2 ppg are their leading scorers.

NMU has won nine straight over PNW, which is coached by Jordan Ashton in his first year.

Wayne State has won three straight even while only going 2-4 on the road. The Warriors are third in the conference at 79.9 ppg on offense and rank the same by making 46.4% from the field. But WSU is last in 3s made at 30.0% and giving them up at 35.3%.

Jordan Briggs lead Wayne State at 16.4 ppg and 3.2 assists per outing, while Carlos Paul III is at 13.4 ppg.

NMU and WSU split their games last season, each winning at the other’s gym.

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