Hammond, Ind. – Senior Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) had another huge game with 21 points and nine rebounds as the Purdue Northwest men's basketball team trailed by three (76-73) with 22 seconds to play, but dropped a heartbreaker to Northern Michigan, 80-73, Thursday night on John Friend Court at the Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. The Pride shot very well from the field hitting 52 percent (27-for-52) of their shot attempts, including 50 percent (6-for-12) of their three-point tries.

Junior Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington) and senior Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) each scored 14 points for PNW in the big conference match-up. Junior Chris Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) and sophomore Lukas Vilkovsky (Kosice, Slovakia/Business Academy) added nine points apiece.

Back-to-back buckets by Johnson to open the game got the Pride off to a hot start as a lay-up by Vilkovsky capped a 10-4 run for the hosts. However, the Wildcats stormed back and took a 16-15 lead with 11:14 left to play in the first half. NMU pushed its lead up to nine (42-33) in the final minute of the period before Johnson scored the final three points of the half to trim the deficit to six, 42-36, at the break.

A three-pointer by Spring early in the second half helped the Pride close to within four, 46-42. Coe hit a three-pointer two minutes later to pull PNW within three, 48-45, and Vilkovsky responded with a steal and a lay-up to make it a one-point game, 48-47. With 10:47 remaining, Nunn converted on a three-point play to give the Pride a 52-50 lead. The game stayed close for the next nine minutes before a lay-up by the Wildcats gave the visitors a six-point edge, 74-68. Vilkovsky hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds to play, but NMU made its free throws in the closing seconds to secure the conference win.

Purdue Northwest (0-8 overall/0-3 GLIAC) hosts Michigan Tech in a GLIAC match-up on Saturday, December 9, at the H.D. Kesling Gymnasium in the James B. Dworkin Student Services & Activities Complex in Westville, Ind. The conference game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT start.