UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL SECOND HALF COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN LOSS TO MICHIGAN TECH

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Men’s Basketball team had a great second half, but Michigan Tech had a better first half by scoring 54 points on their way to an 83-72 at the Gary Senske Court in Lysaker Gym in Crookston.

FIRST HALF –
Michigan Tech started the game red hot as they scored the first 10 points of the game for a quick 10-0 lead over three minutes into the game.  UMC finally got on the board when Uzo Dibiamaka (Soph. Adelaide, South Australia) made a layup to bring the Golden Eagles within a 10-2 deficit.  UMC’s Zen Goodridge (Jr. Orlando, FL) followed with two free throws, but Michigan Tech responded with a three-pointer for a 13-4 lead.  After a UMC basket from Ethan Channel (Jr. Beaverton, OR), Tech responded with a 13-0 run for a commanding 26-6 lead with 12:32 left in the half. UMC stopped the run when Brian Sitzmann (Sr. Savage) hit a jump shot and Zach Westphal (Sr. West Fargo, ND) followed with a layup to bring the Golden Eagles within a 26-10 deficit with less than 12 minutes left in the half.  The team would go back-and-forth the rest of the half as Michigan Tech slowly built on their lead and they took a 54-31 lead into halftime. Michigan Tech shot lights-out in the first half, making 23 of their 34 shots for 68%.  They also made eight of 14 three-pointers for 57%.  

SECOND HALF –
As bad as the first half was for UMC, the second half was a complete 180-degree change as the Golden Eagles came out strong and played the way they are capable of playing and made a big run.  UMC scored the first points of the half when Sam Tiley (Jr. Fort Collins, CO) scored in the paint and Channel added a basket.  After a Tech three-pointer, UMC’s Dibiamaka and Channel added baskets to get within a 57-39 deficit.  Tech bounced back with two three-pointers and the teams exchanged baskets as the Golden Eagles trailed 65-40, which was the biggest deficit of the game (25 points) four minutes into the half.  It was at this point in the game UMC started to play the way they are capable as they played fantastic defense and picked up their offensive play.  Tiley scored five straight points, Jerome Mabry (Soph. Milwaukee, Wis) and Channel added a free throw each, Leonard Dixon (Jr. Damscus, OR) added a three-pointer, Channel added four points, and Dixon buried another three-pointer to cap a 17-0 run to bring UMC within single digits 65-57 with 10 minutes left in the game.  Michigan Tech bounced back and built a 72-60 lead, only to have UMC chip away with three points from Channel, a Dylan Hushaw (Soph. Las Vegas, NV) layup to get within seven points (72-65) with six minutes left in the game.  Tech answered with a 7-0 run behind a big three-pointer, two free throws, and a basket for a 79-65 lead.  Hushaw stopped the Tech run with a three-pointer, but Michigan Tech ran their offense to take as much time off the clock as they could and UMC’s offense went cold in the final three minutes as Tech held on to win 83-72.

UMC drops to 1-3 on the year and will start Northern Sun Conference play on Tuesday when they host Bemidji State at 6:00 p.m.  KROX will carry the game with a pre-game show at 5:30 p.m.  Michigan Tech improves to 2-1 on the year.