Michigan Tech guard Marcus Tomashek drives around a Ferris State defender during a game Saturday in Big Rapids. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — The Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball team saw junior guard Marcus Tomashek reach new heights with a career-high 45 points to hand No. 8-ranked Ferris State its first loss at home with an overtime win (88-85) in front of a crowd of over 1,700 at the Jim Wink Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The win marked the first for Michigan Tech at the Jim Wink Arena since Feb. 5, 2015. The Huskies move to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the GLIAC as No. 8 Ferris State has suffered two losses in four games to move to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the loop. Additionally, Tomashek, the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, tied the program record for most 3-point attempts (15) and his nine 3-point makes was one shy of tying the most 3-pointers made in a single game.

“I saw a lot of fight, when things didn’t go our way, there were a lot of times when we could’ve quit and we kept fighting–not winning it in regulation, a lot of times that goes bad when the team that probably gave it away in the last minute–a lot of times they fall apart in overtime but we came out and executed,” Huskies coach Josh Buettner said. “Obviously we’ve got a special player in Marcus and I hope people appreciate what they’re watching when they get to see a kid like that play. It was such a physical game and the officials did a nice job today but everyone stepped up. Pete (Calcaterra) hit a huge bucket late — Luke (Hazelton), Grant (Warren) and Payton (LaCombe) played great, and Dawson (Nordgaard) had a huge bucket to start overtime.”

It was a defensive battle to start the game as neither team scored a basket in the first three and a half minutes. Tomashek got on the scoreboard first and the Huskies jumped out to an 11-3 advantage following a 3-pointer by Josh Terrian. The Black and Gold had momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers from veteran Adam Hobson off the bench pushing the Huskies lead to 17-6 at the 11:06 mark. From there, Jaxson Whitaker put the Bulldogs on his back hitting four 3-pointers to ignite the crowd and bring Ferris State back into the contest.

The Bulldogs closed the first half on a 9-3 run to head into halftime with a four-point lead and momentum swing off a fastbreak 3-pointer by Whitaker, an and-one by Reng Deng and a layup by Reece Hazelton. Tomashek cut the Bulldogs 7-point edge with a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first period.

Ferris State made it a 10-point game with a 3-pointer by Hazelton at the 17:54 mark. However, the Black and Gold strung together an impressive 17-2 run over the next four minutes highlighted by eight points from Tomashek and three dunks, two by Gabe Smith and the other by Warren, forcing the Bulldogs to talk it over, trailing 52-47.

The Huskies held from that point forward with Tomashek scoring 16 of the team’s 23 points down to the final minute of action, including the last three baskets, two 3-pointers and a tough mid-range jumper to keep Michigan Tech ahead-75-70 with 1:18 to play.

Nate Abel made it a two-possession game (74-70), going 1-for-2 from the free throw line, but four foul shots from Reece Hazelton and a layup by Tyler Hamilton made it a tie game with 18 seconds to play and a chance for the Huskies to secure a game-winner. However, Tomashek’s final shot didn’t fall, sending the two tough teams atop the GLIAC into overtime.

The battle-tested Huskies didn’t back down, using a layup by Nordgaard to retake the lead in overtime and not look back. Following a miss by Erickson, Abel scored on a layup to make it a two-possession game as Nordgaard went 1-for-2 moments later at the foul line. Tomashek and Calcaterra came up big down the stretch with baskets to keep a five-point lead. Although the Bulldogs kept coming with a triple by Erickson and a tip-in by Mykel Bingham before being forced to foul Tomashek, who put the game away with seven seconds to go, hitting 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, with a missed 3-pointer by Erickson handing the Bulldogs its first loss at home by an overtime score of 88-85.

Tomashek led the way with 45 points, a career-high eight assists and a team-leading seven rebounds and three steals. Terrain and Smith each added nine points in a full team effort decision.

Ferris State saw four players reach double figures highlighted by 23 points from Ethan Erickson and 19 points off the bench from Whitaker. Reese Hazelton recorded a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Huskies return home to the SDC Gymnasium hosting Davenport on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and Grand Valley State for Alumni Day (2:00 p.m.) Saturday.