Michigan Tech guard Pete Calcaterra attempts a layup during a game against Minnesota-Duluth Friday in Duluth, Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team had, by all accounts, a very strong weekend in Duluth, Minnesota, last weekend, falling to No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth, 80-70, and then defeating No.3 Minnesota State-Moorhead, 74-70.

However, coach Josh Buettner’s team does not get long to enjoy the fact that they have started the season 3-3 in non-conference play, because they host St. Cloud State Wednesday evening.

Still, Buettner is proud of what his team has accomplished to this point.

“If you (were) hopping on the bus last Thursday, and you said you were going to split against two Top-10 foes, you’d probably take it,” he said. “Honestly, it was, results aside, just how hard we competed for 80 minutes over the weekend, stacking that on top of what I thought we competed pretty well 40 minutes against Concordia(-St. Paul) the week before, the consistency in that is what was terrific. Obviously, getting a result and being rewarded for that level of intensity and defensive competitiveness was great for our team.”

Buettner loved how his team battled the elements on Friday against the Bulldogs.

“I thought we fought,” he said. “I mean, you sit there and you’re on the road against a really old team. Pretty much everything we had gameplanned to try to do in that game went out the window with the way it was called, and who was in foul trouble, and just not even having the guys available that we were kind of really looking to attack with. Obviously it swelled a little bit there early in the second half, but we brought it all the way back, I think we cut it to six there in that last five or six minutes, and just really fought towards the end. That was a great sign.”

Buettner admitted that he worried about a letdown in the matchup against the Dragons on Saturday.

“We talked the night before, and, obviously, your biggest fear is having a letdown after what we felt was competing pretty hard, doing some good things, and still getting beat,” Buettner said. “A lot of times, you come out kind of flat the next day. Our guys just picked it right up and really competed from the get-go in that Moorhead game, and didn’t let anything phase them. We had an early lead, they came back, they took a double-digit lead on us in the second half and just kept playing. The last 12 minutes of that game, we guarded at a really high level.”

Buettner really felt that the team learned a lot in those final 12 minutes about how to handle tight games, something that should give them confidence moving forward.

Along with how well the Huskies defended, junior guard Marcus Tomashek shone throughout the weekend. Offensively, he scored 29 in the loss to the Bulldogs, but he followed that up with 40 in the win over the Dragons.

Still, Buettner is more proud of how hard Tomashek, who was award GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, works without the ball, which inspires the rest of the team.

“The thing I’m most proud of with Marcus was he competed defensively, that for as much as he was doing on the offensive side of the ball, he was still playing hard and giving good effort on the defensive side of the ball,” said Buettner. “Honestly, a lot of it is guys executing. We have a lot of unselfish guys that are helping him get to his spots, space on the floor, flowing the offense without him, and (are) willing to understand that when Marcus can get 1-on-1 at times, that’s our best shot.

“There’s going to be teams that put two on him, and we’re going to start seeing, especially when we get to the league, junk defenses, and a lot of different ways to guard him, and other guys are ready to step up and do that too.”

Buettner said he is not sure that Tomashek can keep up his aggressiveness on the ball all season, but he likes what he is seeing now.

“There’s been some face guarding, and just trying to get really physical and throw a lot of different bodies at him, and try to beat him up,” Buettner said. “We haven’t seen the boxes and ones, the triangles and twos, and some of that yet. But, there’s been some focus on him, and, honestly, he’s pretty special with the ball in his hands.”

At the same time, junior forward Dawson Nordgaard is beginning to draw attention in the paint, which is helping take pressure off Tomashek.

“He’s added as much value to our offense as anybody,” said Buettner. “I mean, having an inside presence again is just opening everything else up. Even when he’s missing, or losing a couple, I mean, he’s drawn some double teams, getting us into some long closeouts, and creating some advantages for us.

“Honestly, it’s crazy. You watch the film at times, he’s drawing as much attention as Marcus is sometimes in terms of the other team scheming and what they’re preparing for. So, being able to play inside out from the paint is just huge for our offense, and defensively, has been phenomenal.”

SCOUTING ST. CLOUD

St. Cloud State comes into Wednesday’s matchup 4-3 on the season after defeating Upper Iowa, 66-65, on Monday, Nov. 18, and topping Northland College on Saturday, 93-43.

They have six players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore guard Jamiir Allen (16.8). Sophomore guard Nate Dahl (12.4), sophomore guard Vance Peiffer (12), freshman guard Hanif Muhammad (11), sophomore guard Wyatt Hawks (10.7), and freshman guard Kynan Philippe (10) are all playing well offensively.

GAME TIME

The unofficial “Battle of the Huskies” will take place Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the SDC Gym in Houghton.