HAMMOND, Ind. – The Purdue Northwest men's basketball team suffered an 87-69 setback to visiting Northern Michigan on Saturday inside the Fitness & Recreation Center.
PNW fell to 5-17 (2-12 GLIAC) overall on the season following the loss, while NMU improved its ledger to 10-11 (6-8 GLIAC).
HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"Caleb [Zurliene] played great - he was a bright spot on a tough day. We didn't come out with any sense of urgency in one of the biggest games of the year. As the coach and leader, that's completely on me. No excuses, no reasons. We've got to be better."
How it happened: Despite the game's opening bucket from
Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech), the Purdue Northwest squad was forced to play from behind the entire afternoon. Northern Michigan raced out to a 27-7 lead near the 12-minute mark in the first half as the Wildcats started the game 11 of 17 from the field. NMU's Nick Wagner hit five 3-pointers during the run.
PNW rallied to cut a 20-point deficit in half when
Caleb Zurliene's (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) free throws made it 36-26 Wildcats with two minutes until the break. However, the Wildcats held steady for a 41-26 halftime advantage.
Again, the Pride clawed their way back within 10 points when they trailed 46-36 early in the second period. However, the Wildcats countered with another run, outscoring PNW 15-3 over the next three-plus minutes with three makes from three-point range. The Pride would never recover.
Zurliene led PNW with 16 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. The sophomore went 5 of 7 from the field and 5 for 6 at the free-throw line. It was his second career double-double.
Sangolay Njie (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while
Piotr Gago (Chicago, Ill./Taft) scored 10 points including a two-handed slam in the first half.
The Wildcats were led by Wagner's game-high 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting from range. Sam Schultz also posted a 12-and-12 double-double effort for the visitors.
UP NEXT
PNW will make its eastern swing across Michigan next week with road games at Wayne State (Thurs, Feb. 10) and Saginaw Valley State (Sat, Feb. 12).
The Pride are slated to return to the Hammond Campus Fitness & Recreation Center for Homecoming on Thursday, Feb. 17.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
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.
