Northern Michigan University head coach Matt Majkrzak celebrates a 3-pointer made by Max Weisbrod during a GLIAC men’s game played against Michigan Tech at the Berry Events Center in Marquette last Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

BIG RAPIDS — There was nothing unlucky about the number 13 for the Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team on Thursday night when the Wildcats fended off Ferris State 83-80.

NMU not only improved its perfect GLIAC record to 10-0, but equaled the 118-year-old program’s longest-ever winning streak with its 13th victory in a row.

Just for good measure, this victory over a Bulldogs team next to them in the national rankings — this week the Wildcats are No. 17 in NCAA Division II while FSU is No. 18 — increased Northern’s lead in the conference to four games over Ferris, which now shares second place with Lake Superior State as those latter two teams are a half-game ahead of Grand Valley State.

Recent two-time GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week Max Weisbrod led NMU scorers with 21 points as he made a pair of 3-pointers and went 9 for 9 at the free throw line. He also dished out a game-high six assists.

Carson Smith added 17 points to the winning effort, hitting a trio of treys and making five assists, four rebounds, a team-high two steals and no turnovers in 34 minutes court time.

Six Wildcats — the only six to score — reached double figures in points as Dylan Kuehl put up 14 points, Riley Brooks 11 and Sam Schultz and Sam Privet 10 apiece.

Schultz, last week’s GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while making four assists and a steal. Kuehl had five assists and four rebounds, while Brooks and Privet each had three rebounds.

Ferris’ Dolapo Olayinka, who transferred from NMU before this season, led all scorers with 22 points as he added in three assists, a blocked shot and two rebounds.

And Marquette Senior High School graduate Vejas Grazulis, a senior for the Bulldogs, scored seven points in 16 minutes court time, also making a team-high seven rebounds — including a game-high five offensive boards — as he sank 2 of 3 shots from the field and 3 of 4 free throws.

Offense was the name of the game on this night as both teams reached double figures on the scoreboard just barely more than four minutes in.

Each team finished the night shooting just over 50% from the field — NMU 53% (30 of 57) and Ferris 51% (30 of 59) — while the Wildcats made 43% on 3-pointers (9 of 21) and 88% on free throws (14 of 16).

Ferris did have a 34-26 rebounding edge.

The lead changed hands seven times in the first eight minutes before a Smith 3-pointer gave the Wildcats the lead for good, 21-18, with 12:20 left in the first half.

However, the game was far from over even as Northern built a 10-point halftime lead, 43-33, after Schultz hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining before intermission.

Early in the second half, NMU twice bumped its advantage to 13 points, 46-33 and 51-38, the latter time coming with 17:59 left after a Brooks 3.

Then the Bulldogs got to work, immediately using a 19-7 run to get within a single point, 58-57, with 11:28 remaining on an Ethan Erickson triple.

Even as Ferris pulled within a single possession three more times, the Wildcats kept the lead the rest of the way. Two key buckets were both triples sank by Brooks when the Bulldogs pulled within a single bucket.

Down the stretch, Northern re-established a nine-point bulge, 79-70, with 4:06 left following a Weisbrod triple.

Then with 1:04 left, Ben Davidson made a layup to polish off a Bulldogs’ 5-0 run over a span of just 75 seconds to get within the final margin. However, one final 3-point try by Davidson fell short in the waning seconds ever after teammate Desean Munson made an offensive rebound as time ran out.

NMU goes for its program-record 14th win in a row at 3 p.m. Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie when the Wildcats take on the other GLIAC second-place team, Lake Superior State.

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