BOX SCORE
UMD 81, Mich Tech 80
Houghton, Mich. - The season opening game for the University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball team was, according to head coach Gary Holquist, purported to be a defensive slugfest against a Michigan Tech squad that prided themselves on their ability to wear down offenses and win low-scoring affairs.
Apparently Jake Hottenstine didn’t get the message. The 6-3 junior shattered his previous career high with a game of near perfection that included 37 points on 14-of-18 shooting and 13 rebounds. Additionally, the Green Bay, Wis., native force fed the Huskies a taste of their own medicine with a number of crucial defensive stops in the waning moments of the game to give the Bulldogs an 81-80 victory over Michigan Tech in the season opener for both teams on Saturday (Nov. 12). Over the 81-year history of basketball at UMD, the Bulldogs are 56-25 all time in season openers.
“Michigan Tech absolutely blanketed (Ryan) Rasmussen throughout the game,” said Holquist. “He didn’t get many good looks which left the door open for many of our other players including Hottenstine. We had a good all-around performance today.”
The aforementioned good performance eluded the Bulldogs in the minutes after the opening tip as the hosts got off to a quick start in front of their home crowd, opening the game on a 9-2 run. Unfazed, the Bulldogs fought right back to deadlock the game at nine with a layup from Brett Ervin and a triple from Rasmussen.
The remainder of the first stanza was hotly contested with neither squad able to gain a firm hold on the momentum until the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run featuring scored from Peter Crawford, Dan Kornbaum and Riley Walker to take a 49-43 lead with 1:53 remaining.
With an Alex Culy three-pointer and a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, the Huskies were able to claw back within a point as the teams retreated to their respective locker rooms at halftime.
The second half proved to be a stark contrast to the first, as each squad had overhauled their defense during the midgame strategy session. It was then that the Huskies chose to employ the option of sending nearly their entire squadron of defenders at Rasmussen, paving the way for Hottenstine to take control of the game.
While the Bulldogs were busy brandishing their bodacious brigade of guards, the Huskies elected to exercise the strength of their imposing interior stars leading to a marked disparity in the personal foul category. Dylan Rodriguez and reigning NSIC Freshman of the Year Brett Ervin were each whistled for four fouls and were forced to adjust their play which gave the Huskies the ability to counter the UMD guards with the twin towers of Mike Hojnacki and Ali Haidar.
The Bulldogs seemed unable to slow down the pair of 6-7 forwards who accounted for all but nine of the points scored by the Huskies in the second half. Fortunately, Hottenstine was able to nearly equal the output of Haidar and Hojnacki as the junior shredded the normally stout Huskies defense to the tune of 20 points in the final half including the final ten points for the Bulldogs.
With a 78-71 advantage as the clock showed 6:20 remaining in the game, the Huskies went on a furious 9-2 run, culminated with a three-pointer from Culy to tie the game at 80.
Hottenstine, who had created for himself all game, found his way to the charity stripe with 25 seconds remaining and put home one-of-two shots for an 81-80 lead. The Huskies bounded down the floor and found Culy for a three-point attempt but Hottenstine forced up an awkward shot from the sophomore.
“To put it simply, Jake was the difference at the end of the game,” stated Holquist. “He was longer and stronger than Culy and forced him out of his comfort zone at the end.”
The Huskies got one final chance to earn the victory, but again Hottenstine denied Culy who missed a driving layup as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Despite spending an exorbitant amount of time at the charity strips, the Huskies made good on only 14-of-23 free throws while the Bulldogs sank 12-of-14. Crawford finished with 11 points for the Bulldogs and went a perfect eight-of- eight from the free throw line.
UMD was whistled for 24 personal fouls while the Huskies were cited with 15 and after preaching rebounding and defense in the weeks leading up to the game, Holquist and his squad walked away with a 43-29 edge on the boards.
The Bulldogs travel to Kenosha, Wis., next weekend to take part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. UMD will face off against two more GLIAC squads in the tournament during their only pair of neutral court tilts in the regular season. Up first will be Northwood on Friday (Nov. 18) with the tip-off occurring at 5 p.m.