David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech guard Gabe Smith extends his arms to defend during a game against Davenport Thursday, Jan. 30, at the SDC Gym in Houghton.

DETROIT — With wins last week over the Davenport Panthers and the Grand Valley State Lakers, the Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team improved to 15-5 overall and 10-2 in GLIAC play, which ties them with Lake Superior State for the conference lead.

Huskies coach Josh Buettner was really pleased with how his team handled the two games, avenging an earlier loss to the Panthers before earning a second win against the Lakers.

“Any time you can get two wins, that’s a great weekend,” he said. “Thursday was a really physical game. I thought both teams came in and played really hard, but I’m happy with how we executed. I think our defensive standard was pretty good, that we had some pretty good balance.

“I know Marcus (Tomashek) led us both games, but we were able to get inside, especially on Saturday, and some guys stepped up and made some plays. Any time you get two wins, it’s a very good weekend.”

Tomashek earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring 32 against the Panthers and then 24 against Grand Valley.

However, it was the play of other Huskies that caught Buettner’s attention, especially senior guard Adam Hobson, who is getting more playing time while freshman guard Ty Fernholz is out with an illness..

“It’s good. Guys are really stepping up,” Buettner said. “I know Adam Hobson’s really stepped up and hunted some shots. (Josh) Terrian’s being a little bit more aggressive, hunting some threes. Obviously, Ty’s a great player, and we’re excited to get him back sometime here in the future, but now that depth was kind of our strength, and it’s proving to help us now.

“Hopefully we can do it on the road as well. I mean, it’s easier for a lot of guys. We tend to make some shots and do some things at home, and hopefully that translates to the road.”

Hobson, senior forward Brad Simonson, and senior guard Pete Calcaterra are all heading into the final eight games of their career as Huskies. Buettner is happy to see them contribute to the Huskies’ success this season.

“It’s awesome to kind of see full circle,” said Buettner. “I mean, (Hobson had) a lot of success early, and kind of (has been) redefining his roles over the years. Now, coming back again, (he’s) a key piece on what’s, hopefully, a really good team.

“That senior class has been through some ups and downs, and they were all part of the championship team as freshmen. Now, to be back competing for one year, is awesome for them. Obviously, there’s a lot of work to do yet, and a lot of tough games ahead, but it’s been rewarding.”

Another player who impressed Buettner over the past week was freshman forward Peyton LaCombe, who was playing his third and fourth games of the season after missing everything prior with an injury in the preseason. He put up a pair of threes in the win over the Panthers on Thursday.

“There’s a lot of good things (I liked in his game),” said Buettner. “He’s long. He’s athletic. He’s skilled. He’s just got to get the confidence piece back and get mentally all the way there. He had a heck of a preseason. It was an unfortunate injury, because he would have been in the mix there, and you just see some of the things he could do. He’s a very talented player, and when the mental (side) is all the way there, he can really help us.”

As exciting as things have been for the Huskies, Buettner admits he has not really taken time to see just how far this group has come over the past three seasons.

“Not at all, because the ones (games) that are coming up are so tough,” he said. “When you’re in the middle of it, all you’re thinking about is the two tough road games that we got this weekend.”

The Huskies are traveling this weekend to face Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State this weekend. Against the Cardinals in Houghton, Toodles Seal led the Cardinals in the first half with 16 points. Terrian took over guarding him in the second half and held him to just two points. Buettner was coy about whether Terrian would draw that same assignment Saturday in University Center.

“Probably, but that’s a Saturday problem,” Buettner said. “We have a really tough test on Thursday before that (game, which) we’re working on, how to guard those guys first.”

While the Huskies defeated both the Warriors and the Cardinals. Buettner knows the second time around won’t be easy.

“You got to be sharp,” he said. “They turn into such rock fights, especially the second time you play each other in the league. Obviously, we have the film from the first game, and there’s a little bit of a chess match there. What adjustments are they going to make? What are we going to do? How are we going to adjust and whatnot, but the familiarity is there. So, it really comes down to who’s going to do their stuff better, who’s going to compete harder and execute better. Can you keep that mentality?

“It’s a long bus trip. It’s Winter, and all that kind of stuff. It’s all about who wants it more mentally.”

SCOUTING THE

WARRIORS

The Warriors come into this weekend 10-10 overall and 6-6 in GLIAC play after a split last week that saw them beat Purdue Northwest before losing to Wisconsin-Parkside.

They have four players that average in double figures starting with sophomore guard Rob Lee Jr., who averages 15.3 points per game. Junior guard Tamarle Adley (14.9), junior guard Carmelo Harris (13.7) and junior forward Carlos Paul III (10.2) all average in double figures as well.

SCOUTING THE

CARDINALS

The Cardinals come into this weekend 9-11 overall and 5-7 in GLIAC play after a sweep of Roosevelt and Wisconsin-Parkside last week.

Seal, a senior guard, leads the team with 15.5 points per game. Senior guard Freddie McIntosh also averages a ton of points at 15.3 per game. Junior forward Elijah Mattingly is close at 9.1 points per game.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Warriors are set to tip-off Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Detroit. Saturday, the Huskies and Cardinals do battle at 3 p.m. in University Center.