Michigan Tech guard Marcus Tomashek looks for a teammate to move the ball to during a game against Wisconsin-Green Bay Wednesday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team, backed by a 30-point outing by junior guard Marcus Tomashek, rounded the 2024 slate with an exhibition victory over Green Bay in front of 5,207 fans for Education Day at the Resch Center on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Phoenix drop to 2-11 overall and 0-3 in the Horizon League while the Huskies remain at 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the loop.

“For the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game I felt like we were playing harder than them and then we had a five or six minute stretch where they got second chances and got to loss balls-we did our stuff better and just competed at a higher level,” Huskies coach Josh Buettner said. “I hope our guys are confident, we’ve been playing really well at home and we hung around in a Division I gym without hitting any 3-pointers in the first half. It got loud in here when the kids got going and it was a great experience for our guys who are from the greater Green Bay area and a chance to come home and play the local Division I team is a big thing for them.”

After a sluggish first half that saw Michigan Tech lead for just 1:14, falling behind by as much as 12-points before heading into halftime down 33-23. Out of the halftime break, the Huskies came out with determination in front of the largest crowd at the Resch Center this season.

The Huskies trailed by as much as 12 points in the first half and only sustained a lead for 1:14 in the opening frame before heading into the locker room trailing 33-23. 

Green Bay, Wisconsin native Tomashek, the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, lifted the Huskies in the first five minutes of the second frame, accounting for seven of MTU’s first 11 points to bring the deficit down to six-points (40-34).

GB’s Ryan Wade pushed the Phoenix’s lead back to double digits off a 3-pointer two minutes later as the teams continued to a back-and-forth scoring affair with 12:10 to play. In a hurry, the Black and Gold strung together an 11-2 run in a minute and a half with two 3-pointers by senior guard Adam Hobson sandwiched between a steal and score dunk by Gabe Smith and a 3-pointer by Ty Fernholz to make it a 49-46 game, forcing Green Bay first year head coach Doug Gottlieb to call a timeout.

Tomashek had 10 of the Huskies final 22 points with under eight minutes to play as the two teams accounted for five lead changes from the under eight minute media timeout to the 1:33 mark. 

Sophomore guard Matt Schmainda hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game with 1:33 to go before Tomashek began his takeover with a 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Huskies up 68-65.

GB’s Marcus Hall made one of two foul shots with 38 seconds to play. However, an untimely foul by Hall sent Tomashek to the foul line where he connected on two free throws to make it a four-point advantage for the Black and Gold with 20 seconds to play.

Tomashek went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final nine seconds of action, finishing 12-for-15 from the foul line. Jeremiah Johnson hit a last-second layup to make the final score 72-70 in favor of Michigan Tech. 

Tomashek recorded his 9th 30-point game for the Black & Gold also leading the team with eight rebounds. Junior forward Dawson Nordgaard added 10 points and three assists in 28 minutes of action. Junior guard Josh Terrian (3 points) and first-year guard Fernholz (9 points) each added five assists. Fernholz and Smith accounted for two steals, respectively.

Without the team’s leading scorer, Jeremiah Johnson stepped up to post a team-high 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Phoenix. Marcus Hall (17 points), Ryan Wade (11 points) and Mac Wrecke rounded out GB’s double-figure scorers.

UP NEXT

The Huskies return to action in the New Year resuming GLIAC play with a roadtrip to Grand Valley State (Jan. 2) and Davenport (Jan. 4).