As ugly as Thursday’s victory over Tiffin was, the Huskies must have gained some confidence from it, earning their second victory of the week, and just their second winning streak on the season, defeating the visiting Ashland Eagles 65-57 on Saturday afternoon.

It was not always pretty, but the Huskies had a respectable offensive effort, paced by 46 percent shooting, but perhaps more importantly the defense really kept Ashland off their game, limiting them to 32 percent shooting in the contest. “I was really happy with the way we defended,” said head coach Kevin Luke. “I’m just really happy for the guys, because they’ve been practicing hard all year long, and they deserve to get this win.”

Ashland started the game strong, though, as Kale Richardson hit a three and Bylynn Hatcher knocked down a layup in the first minute of play. The two average 13 points a game for the Eagles, and to the Huskies credit, they did not allow them to get in a particular rhythm. Richardson ultimately poured in 21 points, but the Huskies held Hatcher to just six points on 1-of-9 shooting.

Michigan Tech earned its first lead 10 minutes into the game on a T.J. Brown layup, but both teams went ice cold before Matt Esters converted a layup that wrapped up a five-minute span with no points. The Huskies increased the lead to seven points twice, but Richardson scored two last-minute layups to cut the Husky halftime lead to three points, 26-23.

Ashland kept it close in the early portions of the second half, but Michigan Tech ultimately never trailed in the final 20 minutes, increasing the lead to 10 points just seven minutes in. Michigan Tech was on the brink of surrendering a comeback on several occasions, but for once it was the Huskies making the clutch baskets and free throws. For the fans that were eager to head to the Tech hockey game down the hall, the game seemed to draw out forever, as both teams were in significant foul trouble. Overall, 54 free throws were attempted in the contest, and Michigan Tech only hit on 64 percent of them, but it was enough for the victory, as the Huskies much more successfully broke the press than Thursday’s game against Tiffin.

Mike Hojnacki stepped up big for Michigan Tech, as the coaches have been emphasizing the need for him to take more shots. He scored a career-high 22 points on 16 shots, and he led the team with seven rebounds as well. Tyler Molesworth scored 11 and Don Fowler added 10 to round out the players in double figures. Ali Haidar and Matt Gaedke each contributed eight points with three players posting two points.

The Huskies turned the ball over 16 times, but only five times in the second half, leading to 11 of Ashland’s points. More importantly, the Huskies forced 19 turnovers, 10 of which came on steals, leading to 16 points. The Husky bench also outscored the Eagles bench 15-8.

The Huskies’ men’s basketball team has now won three of four home games after not winning at home for more than a year prior to the Jan. 14 Hillsdale home victory. They will look to add two more when Ferris State and Grand Valley State come to town next Thursday. The Huskies tournament chances are still alive. Check out next week’s Lode for a full preview.