Northern Michigan University’s Dylan Kuehl, top right, goes up for a layup with several Hillsdale defenders surrounding him during their nonconference men’s basketball game played at the PEIF gym in Marquette on Tuesday evening. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Up next: NMU hosts a pair of games this weekend at its PEIF gym: vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead at 1 p.m. Saturday and vs. Minnesota-Duluth at 1 p.m. Sunday; Radio WUPT 100.3 FM The Point

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MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team put a real feather in its cap on Tuesday evening, handing former GLIAC member Hillsdale its first loss of the season with a 74-68 overtime win at the school’s PEIF gym.

Hillsdale received enough votes to be ranked 31st, just outside the top 25, in the National Association of Basketball Coaches rankings released Monday.

The Chargers were 3-0 entering the game while Northern now moves above .500 at 4-3.

Sam Schultz not only had his fourth double-digit rebound game of the season, but led all scorers with 21 points. Teammate Dylan Kuehl contributed 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Carson Smith and Max Weisbrod contributed 11 points. Smith hit 2 of 3 on triples, pulled in five rebounds and made two blocked shots, while Weisbrod had over half of NMU’s 15 assists with eight of his own.

Joe Reuter led Hillsdale with 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

The Chargers blanked Northern for about four minutes midway through the second half, turning a 39-38 deficit into a 47-39 lead with 10:27 left in regulation.

Then the Wildcats began their own defensive clampdown, keeping Hillsdale off the board for the next four minutes to erase the deficit and tie it 47-47 on a pair of free throws by Kuehl with 6:03 to go.

After that, neither team had more than a one-possession lead for the rest of regulation.

Schultz gave NMU a 58-57 lead with a pair of free throws with 1:01 left, while Weisbrod added another point to it by making one of two free throws with 16 seconds to go. But Hillsdale came up with a Charles Woodhams layup in the final second to force overtime.

While the Chargers tied the score twice following Schultz layups in the first 2 1/2 minutes of OT, Smith and Weisbrod hit back-to-back 3s to give Northern a 69-63 edge with 1:21 to go.

Parzych, Weisbrod and Schultz combined to sink four more free throws in the final minute to open NMU’s largest lead of the night, 73-63, with 24 seconds left.

Back in the first half, Hillsdale established a double-digit lead at 16-6 with around 10 minutes left before halftime. Northern fought back to get its deficit down to one possession, 30-27, following a Smith triple in the final minute as it trailed 32-27 at the break.

The Wildcats again kept it a one-possession game throughout the first six minutes of the second half before Hillsdale began its initial second-half surge.

This was NMU’s first game in an extended eight-game homestand that continues with a pair of games at the PEIF gym this weekend. The Wildcats host Minnesota State-Moorhead at 1 p.m. Saturday and Minnesota-Duluth at 1 p.m. Sunday.

They also have a nonconference game against Viterbo at 5 p.m. Thursday before opening GLIAC play with a game against Wayne State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, also facing Saginaw Valley State two days later.

NMU Sports Information announced Tuesday that due to damage of the basketball floor that is used in the Berry Events Center, Wildcats’ men’s and women’s basketball game will be played in the PEIF gym until further notice.

Tickets already purchased are valid at the different venue.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.