NMU men’s hoops splits 1st games with new coach
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WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. -- The men's basketball team began the Keil Ganz coaching era with a split of its first two games at the Midwest Tip-Off Challenge presented by the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association over
Northern Michigan University's Brooks Hinson, front right, goes up for a shot and is fouled by Saginaw Valley State's Xavier Thomas during their GLIAC game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Feb. 5. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Playing at the Justagame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, the Wildcats defeated Central Oklahoma 82-62 before losing to Harding (Arkansas) 75-59.
NMU had a third game scheduled against Lincoln Memorial (Tennessee) on Sunday night before taking a break for nearly two weeks.
Northern's next game, actually its next four, are back in Wisconsin Dells, starting with one vs. Missouri-St. Louis at 2 p.m. EST on Friday, Nov. 13.
Here are details from the Midwest Tip-Off:
NMU 82, C. Okla. 62
On Friday night, the Wildcats opened up with great energy and teamwork, jumping out to a 36-10 lead with six minutes left in the first half following a free throw by Brooks Hinson.
They settled for a 44-25 halftime lead and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, with it reaching more than 20 times on a number of occasions.
"I am so proud of these guys," Ganz said in an NMU Sports Information news release reviewing the game. "We were tough.... We were unselfish.... And it's so fun to win.
"Being able to get my first win here in the Dells where I coached a lot of games as an AAU coach is pretty cool.
"We were nasty defensively, especially in the first half. Our attention to detail was really good, and I am proud of how they handled adversity in the second half."
Hinson, a sophomore guard, led all scorers with 22 points while also grabbing four rebounds, making three assists and swiping two steals. He was 7 of 13 from the field, including a sizzling 6 of 9 on 3-pointers.
"My teammates were getting me good looks," Hinson told NMU SI. "I found myself open, and I was knocking them down."
Five Wildcats scored in double figures. Kyle Olagbegi put up 13 points, making 6 of 8 from the field along with nabbing a game-high seven rebounds. Isaiah Allen and George Bellevue added 11 points apiece, while Pryce Gregoire had 10.
Allen had two of Northern's three blocked shots, Bellevue knocked down 3 of 4 triples, while Gregoire hit a pair of 3s and made a game-high four assists to go with two steals.
As a team, the Wildcats made 57% from the field, 30 of 53, including 54% on triples, 14 of 26.
Donovan Lovelace led the unusually-spelled Bronchos with 18 points as he made 8 of 9 free throws.
Allen hit a triple 29 seconds in and NMU was off to the races, reaching its first 10-point lead at 15-5 when Caden Gustafson hit a 3 with 13:55 left in the first half. It first reached 20 at 31-9 when Hinson banged in a triple with 7:36 to go in the half.
In the second half, Central Oklahoma pulled as close as 12 points, 48-36, with 15:57 left on a traditional three-point play by Lovelace. But the Wildcats hit their high-water mark of 24 points, 72-48, with 8:29 to go on a Bellevue triple.
Harding 75, NMU 59
On Saturday night, the Northern shooting touch that aided them so well on Friday eluded them the following evening.
NMU shot just 38% (22 of 58) that included 24% on 3s (6 of 25). Even free throws were a struggle, with the Wildcats making just 47% (9 of 19) as Harding established a 13-point halftime advantage.
Gregoire led Northern with 13 points, hitting a pair of triples while making three rebounds. Ross Robertson added 11 points, hitting 5 of 7 free throws, while Olagbegi scored 10 points.
Robertson and Olagbegi shared team rebounding honors with seven apiece, while Hinson had a game-high five assists and Allen a game-high three steals.
Reggie Webster paced the Bison with 24 points as he hit four triples, while Toby Pike had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with seven points.
Harding hit exactly 50% from the field (27 of 54) and just as an exact one-third of its 3s (6 of 18, 33%).
The teams traded the lead four times in the early going before Bison took the lead for good at 15-13 with 12:47 left in the first half on a Bradley Land layup. It was part of an 8-0 run by Harding.
Its first double-digit lead occurred at 28-17 with 8:32 left and the lead remained at least at 10 the rest of the half, including 40-27 at intermission.
The Wildcats whittled their deficit to seven points twice in the second half, the second time at 58-51 with 8:18 to go on an Olagbegi layup. During the run to reduce the deficit, Allen made two dunks.
After Northern got it back to single digits, Harding went on a 9-0 run that gave it a 67-51 edge with 4:39 remaining and protected the double-digit margin the rest of the way.
NMU 82, C. Okla. 62
Friday at Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA -- Lovelace 5-8-18, Sebock 3-5-11, Tuck 1-4-6, Ingram 1-2-4, Robinson 1-0-2, Ivanov 4-4-13, Hancuff 1-3-5, Jamison 1-0-3. Totals 17-26-62.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- Hinson 7-2-22, Olagbegi 6-1-13, Allen 5-0-11, Gregoire 4-0-10, Miller 1-0-2, Bellevue 4-0-11, Gustafson 2-0-5, Robertson 0-4-4, Bellisle 1-0-3, Dunham 0-1-1. Totals 30-8-82.
Halftime score: NMU 44-25
FG shooting: Central Oklahoma 17 of 46 (37.0 percent), NMU 30 of 53 (56.6 percent); 3-point shooting: Central Oklahoma 2 of 11 (18.2 percent), NMU 14 of 26 (53.8 percent); FT shooting: Central Oklahoma 26 of 30 (86.7 percent), NMU 8 of 14 (57.1 percent); Rebounding, Central Oklahoma 24 (Jarreth Ingram and Jack Robinson 5 each), NMU 31 (Kyle Olagbegi 7); Assists, Central Oklahoma 5 (5 players with 1 each), NMU 20 (Pryce Gregoire 4); Steals, Central Oklahoma 5 (Pavel Ivanov 2), NMU 7 (Gregoire and Brooks Hinson 2 each); Turnovers, Central Oklahoma 12, NMU 10.
Harding 75, NMU 59
Saturday at Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)
NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- Gregoire 5-1-13, Olagbegi 5-0-10, Allen 4-1-9, Hinson 2-1-7, Miller 1-0-3, Robertson 3-5-11, Bellevue 1-1-4, Gustafson 1-0-2. Totals 22-9-59.
HARDING -- Webster 8-4-24, Rangan 8-0-17, Land 3-4-10, Pike 2-3-7, Gaines 3-1-8, Hall 2-2-6, Suess 1-1-3. Totals 27-15-75.
Halftime score: Harding 40-27
FG shooting: NMU 22 of 58 (37.9 percent), Harding 27 of 54 (50 percent); 3-point shooting: NMU 6 of 25 (24 percent), Harding 6 of 18 (33.3 percent); FT shooting: NMU 9 of 19 (47.4 percent), Harding 15 of 19 (78.9 percent); Rebounding, NMU 32 (Kyle Olagbegi and Ross Robertson 7 each), Harding 38 (Toby Pike 10); Assists, NMU 13 (Brooks Hinson 5), Harding 10 (4 players with 2 each); Steals, NMU 5 (Isaiah Allen 3), Harding 6 (Pike 2); Turnovers, NMU 13, Harding 15.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.