The Purdue Northwest men's basketball team started their GLIAC play with a battle at home in a 85-77 loss to Northern Michigan on Thursday night.
The Basics
- Records: Purdue Northwest (5-3,0-1), Northern Michigan (6-2,1-0)
- Location: John Friend Court - Hammond, Ind.
- Attendance: 300
Laborers Local 41 Player of the Game:Â SeniorÂ
Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) - Game-high 26 points (9-of-15), five rebounds, and one assist.
Inside The Numbers
- Graduate Alou Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa West) scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists.
- Junior Kalil Whitehead (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) added 11 points off the bench for the Pride.
- Junior Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) chipped in nine points during the game.
- Purdue Northwest finished the contest shooting 27-of-50 (54.0%) from the field and went 9-of-20 (45.0%) from behind the arc.
- Max Bjorklund led Northern Michigan with 20 points and recorded five rebounds.
- The Wildcats ended the game going 28-of-61(45.9%) from the floor and shot 8-of-23 (34.8%) from the three-point line.
The Breakdown
- Both teams battled in the first ten minutes of the game seeing Northern Michigan hold onto a 13-12 lead.
- The Pride went on a 17-4 run to take a 30-17 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half.
- Purdue Northwest went into halfime holding onto a double-digit lead over the Wildcats, 40-30.
- Northern Michigan did not go away and went on a 13-4 run to cut their deficit to one, 44-43, with 16 minutes remaining.
- The Wildcats took their first lead in the second half, 53-51, with 12 minutes left in the game.
- The teams battled back-and-forth for the rest of the game but saw Northern Michigan knock down their free throws in the end hold on to a 85-77 win.
- Northern Michigan held a slight advantage in points in the paint, 40-36.
Game Quote from Head Coach Boomer Roberts
"We played really well in the first half, executing our game plan on both ends. We got away from it a little early in the second half, and they got momentum with some transition and second chance threes. In the GLIAC, there will be no easy finishes, and you have to put two halves together to win."
Up Next
- The Pride return to home action once again when they host Michigan Tech in GLIAC play on Saturday, December 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. central time at John Friend Court following the women's basketball game.
