FINDLAY, Ohio – Once trailing by 16 points, the Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team rallied to make a game of it against the host Findlay (Ohio) Oilers on Saturday.

But though Jordan Perez knocked down a career-high 28 points, the Wildcats came up short, 73-71, in a GLIAC encounter.

The Wildcats 2-5 (1-3 GLIAC) came back to tie the Oilers, 59-59, with 6:27 remaining, then took their first lead of the game on their next possession on the strength of a Perez layup.

But the Oilers thwarted the NMU comeback attempt by outscoring the Wildcats 14-10 the rest of the way.

In the first half, Findlay built a 25-10 lead by the 10:22 mark on the strength of a 10-0 run.

The Wildcats regrouped, pulling back to within five with 5:09 left by going on a 9-4 run.

But that was a close as they would get in the half, as the Oilers outscored them the rest of the way, 14-5, to take a 43-29 advantage into intermission.

Findlay’s largest lead of the game, the 16-point advantage, came at 19:46 of the second half after John Staley made a layup on his team’s first possession.

But the Wildcats tied the game on the strength of a 30-14 run, during which Perez notched 12 of his points.

In that run, Alex Mustert added seven points, and Brett Branstrom of of Perkins gave NMU some momentum with a dunk.

Perez has only breached the 20-point plateau two other times: Jan. 15, 2015 against Ferris State (21) and Feb. 12, 2015 against Saginaw Valley State (23).

Mustert was another Wildcat to reach double figures, posting 15 points. He finished one rebound short of completing ta double-double with a game-high nine boards

NMU went 7 for 18 beyond the arc and 8 for 14 at the line. The Wildcats held a 42-27 advantage in rebounds.

Northern will return to the court Dec. 19, hosting Grace Bible at 3 p.m. at the Berry Events Center.

Information compiled by Senior Sports Writer Craig Remsburg. He can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251, or via email at cremsburg@miningjournal.net.