However, if you ask Tomashek himself, he didn’t even know he was that close.

“It never was a main goal,” he said. “I didn’t really know I was that close. I guess, at that point, our team was just focused on getting our first win of the season.

“Before the game, my coach (Josh Buettner) actually told me that I was really close, and I said, ‘Yeah, I had no idea.’ But then he told me, I think it was seven or nine points away. So, once I scored that, I knew that I was at it, but it wasn’t like, ‘Yeah, I need to do this.'”

In a funny twist of fate, he didn’t even score in the first half. However, he said that as he entered the team huddle between halves, he was not worried about it.

Michigan Tech guard Marcus Tomashek leaps to put up a jump shot during a game against St. Cloud State on Wednesday, Nov. 27, at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

“Yeah, I don’t think it really put any pressure on,” he said. “It was just, I guess, how that game went. I obviously didn’t get off to the best start that game, but it didn’t matter. We were winning in that half, and then I had a better second half. So, when it happened, it was a good feeling.”

Tomashek went on to finish with 13 points in the Huskies’ season-opening win, 72-57 over the Tritons. The next day, he put up 36 in a win over Maryville, and from there, he has been everything that Buettner and his staff could ask for in a star player.

“The things that are honestly more impressive, from a coaching staff (perspective), is seeing his maturity as a teammate and a leader,” Buettner said. “He’s just helping guys out. He’s positive. I mean, obviously the numbers he puts up offensively predominantly, but he’s really moving the ball. I know he gets a lot of shots up, but he’s picking his spots, and he’s kind of letting the games come to him a little bit more, just being a good teammate, and a good leader, and trying pretty hard defensively.”

While he is averaging 24.1 points per game, which is the highest season average of his career, Tomashek is also humble in how he approaches the game, and he knows that he still needs to work on his defensive play.

“I’m not the greatest defender, but I try my best,” he said. “I’m going to work. I’m going to work really hard on the defensive end. I’m going to be a great teammate. When I’m off the court, I’ll always be a big cheerleader for the guys on the team that are on the court. So, I think being a good teammate, and focusing on defense, is another part of my game that’s good.”

The Green Bay native, who played his high school basketball at Ashwaubenon, loves the fact that his teammates believe in him every time he gets the ball in his hands.

“It feels good,” he said. “My teammates have a lot of trust in me. My coaches have a lot of trust in me, and I trust all of them, too. I know that they know that when I’m going, I can put up some big shots and put up some points. But, I also know that they will do the same thing if they need to, and when they have the chance, they’re going to make the right plays, too.”

Tomashel has had to develop areas of his offensive game to continue to be an effective scorer.

“I’d say earlier in my career, I was more of just a 3-point shooter,” he said. “Just a few more years of putting on a little bit of weight, and just becoming a better player, helps me, because I can do more than just shoot now. So, being able to score at all three levels makes it hard for other people to guard.”

When he was in the recruiting process, the biggest factor for Tomashek to decide that Houghton was the right home for him was the way Buettner made him feel welcome.

“I thought I made a really good connection with Coach Buetts,” said Tomashek. “I enjoyed the culture that I saw when I was up here. I can definitely say that our team’s culture is terrific. I don’t think I’d be able to find something like this anywhere else.”

In the era of NIL money, and players making use of the transfer portal seemingly at the drop of a hat, Tomashek would not have his college experience go any other way.

“I don’t think about going anywhere else,” he said. “I mean, I love my teammates. I love my coaches. I just, I love everything about Houghton, too. So, I enjoy it a lot up here.”

Tomashek and his teammates are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, and are 6-3 overall this season. They didn’t reach their sixth win until Jan. 18 last season. As a freshman, the Huskies didn’t pick up their sixth win until Feb. 2.

“Obviously, the last two years didn’t go the way anybody wanted,” Tomashek said. “We weren’t an overly good team. So, we have a lot higher hopes this year that, hopefully now, that we’re older, more mature, that we can kind of turn this around and have a much better year this year.”