With the win, the Huskies remain undefeated at home at 13-0.

Despite the score, Huskies coach Josh Buettner felt that his team accomplished what they wanted defensively.

“Well, right now we’re pretty locked in defensively, for the most part,” he said. “There was a stretch there in the middle of the first half where I don’t know that we were as sharp on the scout as we needed to be, and gave up a couple layups that were a little bit too easy. But, I think we’re a pretty connected group.”

With how well the Huskies (23-6 overall) are playing defensively, Buettner was not concerned that it took his team over three minutes to make their first basket.

Michigan Tech guard Matt Schmainda drives around a Roosevelt defender during the second half of a GLIAC quarterfinal game Wednesday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

“The one thing I felt pretty good about in that first four minutes was I felt like the shots that they made were shots that we were okay with,” he said. “As long as you’re guarding, I’m pretty confident, especially in our gym, that the offense will get going. If we’re not guarding, that’s the part that makes it feel like we’re not ready. On offense, sometimes there’s nerves, sometimes you just miss a shot. But, when you’re locked in defensively, you feel better about your squad.”

Once it got rolling, the Huskies’ offense did what it needed to do as it went 12-of-30 from beyond the arc, with seven players scoring at least seven points and four finishing in double figures.

“The ball’s moving, obviously,” said Buettner. “I love the balance. We had four and double figures and got seven guys over seven points. Those are good qualities.”

While junior guard Marcus Tomashek paced the Huskies with 17 points, it was freshman guard Ty Fernholz who dominated the first half, as he hit four threes, including two in a 38-second span, to help the Huskies turn an early six-point deficit into a 12-point lead, 43-31, at the half.

“My teammates just trust me to, if I get any open space, just shoot it,” he said. “I just have been having that confidence. (My) coaches and teammates trusted me to let it go.”

Fernholz, who finished with 16 points, missed a month of the season due to illness. He has been back for five games, and has reached double figures in three of the five contests.

“(I needed) practice (to) just build that confidence back,” he said. “(I) also (used that break to) get a little bit of freshness. As a freshman, we usually wear down pretty early. Basketball’s a long season, not many weeks off. (You have to) look for the positive in things. Having that month off, (I) kind of feel freshened up, fresh legs, and (now I am able to) give this group a spark that they need.”

Buettner felt the combination of Fernholz hitting threes, Tomashek scoring, and the Huskies getting 10 offensive rebounds made all the difference.

“Obviously, getting Ty back has been huge in terms of giving Marcus more space too,” Buettner said. “We’ve really been doing a pretty good job of getting some, when Marcus is in there, good looks in transition, second chance offensive rebounds. We had 10 again today, which is something we’ve really been trying to do.

“The more balanced we can be, and the deeper we can be, the better we’ll be going down the stretch. Especially when, if you’re fortunate enough to win one of these next couple games, you’re usually going to be playing back-to-backs.”

Freshman guard Gabe Smith finished with 12 points, and junior guard Nate Abel added 11.

In terms of how the Huskies used those offensive second chances to their advantage, a shining example happened in the second half just under nine minutes in when senior guard Adam Hobson missed an attempted 3-pointer. The rebound kicked straight back at him, but senior guard Pete Calcaterra jumped, caught the ball, and then dunked it, all in one motion, putting the Huskies up by 16, 60-44.

With seven and half minutes left, the Huskies extended that advantage to 20, 70-50, after Tomashek hit a pair of free throws. Buettner pulled him out of that game at that point.

“Today, when they blitzed the ball screens, he did a better job of getting it out, facilitating, and it was going to open up,” said Buettner. “Honestly, we didn’t play him the last nine minutes, and that’s usually the time of the game when he scores the most. But, we felt like we had enough of an opportunity there to survive without him. So, it was good.

“He’s doing a good job of letting the game come to him, and being a facilitator when he needs to. Once three or four other guys start making shots, suddenly things get a lot more open for him.”

The Lakers were paced by Enari Thomas, who led all scorers with 24 points. Forte Prater added 21.

UP NEXT

The Huskies will host the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Saturday for GLIAC semifinal action at 12 p.m. at the SDC Gym. The Wildcats downed the Grand Valley State Lakers, 85-72, Wednesday.