Northern Michigan University’s Jackson Dudek, right, and Ferris State’s Brandon Claerbaut go after a loose ball during their GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal men’s basketball game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Step No. 1 has been accomplished, so now it’s on to bigger and even better things for the men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University.

The Wildcats defeated Ferris State 91-62 at Vandament Arena on Wednesday evening in the first-round quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

As the event’s No. 1 seed, NMU insured it will keep home court for the upcoming semifinal and final rounds to be played Saturday and Sunday, respectively, back at Vandament.

Northern improved to 26-5 overall with the victory as No. 8 seed Ferris finished at 10-18. This marks the first time in program history the Wildcats have reached 26 wins in a season.

NMU will host No. 4 seed Lake Superior State (18-11) at 2 p.m. Saturday in one semi, while No. 2 Michigan Tech (26-5) will face No. 3 Grand Valley State (23-6) immediately after at 4:30 p.m.

Winners of those games meet at 2 p.m. Sunday at Vandament for the tourney championship and the GLIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Tickets were scheduled to go on sale for this weekend’s games at 10 a.m. today.

Other first-round games Wednesday saw Lake State down No. 5 Purdue Northwest 93-91 in overtime, MTU edge No. 7 Davenport 72-70 and GVSU knock off No. 6 Wayne State 81-67.

NMU, at No. 17 in the nation this week, actually trailed for most of the game’s first 10 minutes as the visiting Bulldogs shot the ball well coming out of the gate, making each of their first six shots.

But when Northern’s Charlie Miller sank a 3-pointer with 9:46 left in the first half, his team took a 23-22 lead it wouldn’t give up again.

Balanced scoring was a key for the Wildcats, with Dylan Kuehl leading the way with 17 points that included several emphatic dunks. Despite not hitting on any of three triple attempts, he did go 5 for 5 at the free-throw line, sharing team rebounding honors with six while also dishing out four assists.

Teammates Bennett Basich and Jackson Dudek added 13 points apiece, Basich knocking down a trio of 3s, tying Kuehl with six rebounds, and also sharing top assist honors with five. Dudek have five rebounds and four assists.

And Northern’s Cal Klesmit scored 12 points, making a pair of triples and dishing out five assists.

Additionally, four other Wildcats made multiple baskets, including Trevor Polite going 3 of 3 from the field for eight points in just 14 minutes.

Ferris’ Tae Boyd led all scorers with 19 points as he made 6 of 6 free throws.

Though NMU tied the score several times in the early going, the Wildcats didn’t take their first lead until Kuehl sank three free throws with 14:15 remaining in the first half for a 15-14 lead.

The Bulldogs wrested the lead back about 2 1/2 minutes later before Miller’s triple just past the midpoint of the half put Northern ahead for good. His shot actually started a 21-6 NMU run that lasted until halftime and gave the home team a commanding 41-28 edge at intermission.

With the Wildcats winning their regular-season matchups with Ferris by 29 and 22 points, Northern again pulled away from the Bulldogs on Wednesday, getting to a 20-point lead, 48-28, with 17:35 to go on a Klesmit layup, then 30 points for the first time at 67-36 with 10:34 left on a Basich 3.

NMU held the edge all over the stats sheet, shooting better from the field, 49% to 42%; much better on 3s, 29% to 17%; grabbing more rebounds, 39-30; and committing fewer turnovers, 11-5.

NMU 91, Ferris St. 62

GLIAC quarterfinals

Wednesday at Vandament Arena

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

FERRIS STATE — Boyd 6-6-19, Bingham 7-0-15, Hardy 3-3-9, Claerbaut 2-0-4, Hoth 0-1-1, Moore 4-0-10, Cabana 2-0-4. Totals 24-10-62.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Kuehl 6-5-17, Dudek 5-3-13, Basich 4-2-13, Klesmit 5-0-12, Privet 1-0-3, Polite 3-2-8, Allen 2-2-7, Hinson 2-0-6, Miller 2-0-5, Schmitz 1-2-4, Ingalls 1-0-2, Robertson 0-1-1. Totals 32-17-91.

Halftime score: NMU 41-28

FG shooting: Ferris State 24 of 56 (42.9 percent), NMU 32 of 66 (48.5 percent); 3-point shooting: Ferris State 4 of 23 (17.4 percent), NMU 10 of 34 (29.4 percent); FT shooting: Ferris State 10 of 14 (71.4 percent), NMU 17 of 21 (81.0 percent); Rebounding, Ferris State 30 (Owen Hardy 7), NMU 39 (Dylan Kuehl and Bennett Basich 6 each); Assists, Ferris State 8 (3 players with 2 each), NMU 22 (Basich and Cal Klesmit 5 each); Steals, Ferris State 5 (Justin Asi 2), NMU 8 (3 players with 2 each); Turnovers, Ferris State 11, NMU 5.

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.