HAMMOND, Ind. — The Purdue Northwest men's basketball squad lost to the visiting Michigan Tech Huskies, 65-44, Thursday night at the Fitness & Recreation Center.

The loss brings the Pride to 5-16 (2-11 GLIAC) as the Huskies move to 14-5 (10-3 GLIAC).

HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"We played well enough defensively to win the game, but we struggled offensively. We couldn't get a rhythm going, and Tech had a lot to do with that."

How it happened: Both teams got off to a slow start, with the first point not coming until 16:12 in the first half. The first stanza went back-and-forth as Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) led PNW to a 18-16 lead with 6:59 left. MTU battled back though, and took a halftime advantage with a score of 25-22.

Despite PNW's struggles to get the ball in the basket in the second half, the Pride got to the line 23 times and blocked six shots on the defensive end.

Eventually, MTU pulled away with a 27-10 run over the final 10:14 in the second half. PNW shot 26 percent from the field to Michigan Tech's 42 percent.

Cooper led the way with 17 points and six rebounds for the Pride as the only PNW player in double digits. Jyrus Freels (Evansville, Ind./Francis Joseph Reitz) chipped in with nine points and six boards.

MTU's leading scorer Owen White paced the Huskies with 19 points.

UP NEXT
The Pride will defend John. Friend Court against the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Saturday with tipoff slated for 3 p.m. CST.

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For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest Men's Basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.